UNC junior forward Erin Matson earned her second consecutive Honda Sport Award for field hockey on Wednesday, an honor which recognizes the top women’s athletes in the country across 12 different NCAA sports.

Matson led the Tar Heels to their third consecutive national championship last month, scoring the overtime game-winner against Michigan in the title game.

The native of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania led UNC in scoring with 29 goals and nine assists over the course of the 20-game season. The Tar Heels went 19-1 this season and closed out the year by winning each of their last 18 games.

Matson was previously named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player for her efforts this season.

She joins Cindy Werley as the only UNC field hockey players to win back-to-back Honda Sport Awards, with Werley accomplishing the feat in 1996 and 1997.

With former Tar Heel Ashley Hoffman winning the award in 2018 and Matson winning each of the last two seasons, UNC has swept the last three awards in field hockey.

The Tar Heels have gone 65-1 since Matson arrived on campus prior to the 2018 season, including a 47-game winning streak which encompassed her entire freshman and sophomore campaigns as well as the first game of the 2020-21 season.

She has already earned comparisons to some of the greatest UNC athletes of all time no matter the sport for her dominance, names such as Mia Hamm and Michael Jordan.

Other finalists for this year’s Honda Sport Award in field hockey included: Sophie Hamilton (UCONN), Megan Schneider (Louisville) and Corinne Zanolli (Stanford).

By winning the Honda Award, Matson becomes one of 12 finalists for this year’s Honda Cup — which recognizes the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to receive the Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey again this year,” Matson said. “It means the world to me to be selected especially after a year when everyone had to overcome so many unique challenges. I couldn’t be more thankful for my coaches and UNC field hockey sisters.

“We play for Carolina, our beautiful university, our incredible athletics program and coaching staff, the sport of field hockey, and each other,” she added. “We grew together, laughed together, and were able to win another national championship for UNC. With the Honda Award being more than an athletic award, it also makes me so proud to be able to represent Carolina and my family in winning again.”

 

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