Notes From the Field: Remember That Bottled-Up Magic?

Erin Matson is a Tar Heel, world-class athlete, team player and champion. Here, in “Notes From the Field,” she’ll be sharing some of her thoughts in an ongoing series set to cover anything and everything on her mind. You can find the full series so far here, on Chapelboro.

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Okay, people, I know it’s been a little bit longer than intended since I last talked to you. But if you’d excuse me, I can officially now say, “THE UNCFH GIRLS ARE YOUR 2022 UNDEFEATED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!”

(I actually fully had a blog written before Final Four weekend in case I was swamped, but I, of course, could not jinx anything and write about the Natty … then we won, and I was like “Who am I kidding?! I can’t put something out that doesn’t talk about it!)

After the chartered plane ride home with the trophy, continued celebrations, wearing our championship t-shirts and hats for at least 48 hours straight (yes, most of us showered and then proceeded to just put them back on), and feeling all of the love from social media and people reaching out, it still doesn’t feel real. I’m sitting here at my kitchen table with coffee in a UNC mug, shaking my head saying, “Did that really just happen?”

The Senior Class and I have been fortunate to be a part of many championship celebrations. (I started typing “lucky” there before realizing it wasn’t lucky at all – we earned each one and created our own luck with dedication and hard work.) five ACC Championships and four NCAA Division I Championships to be exact. (Meredith Sholder actually has six ACC Championships since she’s a year above us – NUTS!)

In 2018, for those of you who aren’t aware, we went 23-0 to win the title over Maryland. In 2019, another perfect 23-0 record followed making us 2x Undefeated National Champions over Princeton. While the 2020-21 season wasn’t perfect – during the weirdest year of all of our lives – we finished the season 19-1 with an OT win over Michigan in the championship held at our very own KSS.

Our record was 65-1 from 2018 to 2021.

2021 was a unique year for us because it included a bit more of something unfamiliar to us … losing. We finished last year with a 13-7 record, losing to Northwestern in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. And while winning four consecutive National Championship titles has never been done before in NCAA Field Hockey because, ya know, it’s … hard, we were devastated. It was too early, and watching other teams compete weeks after us instead of us being the one everyone watched did not sit well with us.

That following spring was different for us. Then the following summer was different, and we were all ready to go well before the first day of the 2022 season. Our desire not to revisit that losing feeling was strong, and it showed in our actions.

Taking advantage of the time we have together.

Putting aside time to get extra work in by yourself on the field.

Learning from wins and being perfectionists.

Taking it one game at a time.

Focusing on one quarter of each game at a time.

And soon we were back playing in those big moments, where Tar Heels belong.

This past 2022 season, we finished 21-0 with a nail biting win over Northwestern, the opponent that ended our season last year. UNCFH has won four out of the last five National Championships, three of those have been undefeated. Like I said, we’re very fortunate. But we deserve it because we continue to give it our all, and every championship has been special in its own way. Each city will forever make us think of the final moments the clock ran down. Each championship ring captures the highlights of that season. And each year’s team has their own adventures to tell stories about forever.

So what made this one special? Because, my goodness, it was.

We had each other’s backs, and did everything to make sure the person beside us was happy, confident, and supported.

We made an effort to understand each other and then accepted each person for who they are and what they brought to the table.

We had fun together, on the field and off of it. Each practice was hard, but we laughed, hugged, cheered each other on, and made memories everyday.

We were selfless and understood everything we did had to be for the betterment of the group.

We challenged each other so every practice was a tryout, but we did so because we wanted it so badly for each other and for Coach.

We had trust in each other – in our coaching staff and them in us – and we respected that trust, doing what was right and getting 1% better in something each day.

We paid attention to detail more than anyone else in the country – studying film, executing skills until they met our high standards, asking the questions, and wanting to be better than everyone.

We stayed present, appreciated every moment, and realized how fortunate we were.

It was special because, deep down, from day one, we knew we were special. But we also didn’t want to just admit it; we wanted to prove it. This 2022 team deserves all of the praise. Let me say that again … This 2022 TEAM deserves all of the praise. Because what we did was magical. It felt extraordinary but, at the same time, there was no way we were going to allow it to be anything less.

I loved this season.

I loved this team.

And I love being a Tar Heel.

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