Erin Matson Balancing Expectations, Growth as UNC Field Hockey Reloads for 2026

Erin Matson keeps a running list in her phone. No, it’s not a grocery list or weekly errands. It’s a list of lessons.

As the 26-year-old enters her fourth season leading the program where she won four national championships as a player while rewriting ACC and NCAA record books, she does so carrying every lesson learned since taking over in January 2023 as the youngest head coach in Division I athletics.

Looking at Matson’s tenure, it would be easy to wonder how many lessons could come from three seasons that have already produced a national championship, two Final Four appearances and three conference titles — but according to Matson, there have been plenty.

“I remember messages that the first season taught me,” Matson told Inside Carolina. “Even though we won (the national championship), I remember being like, ‘Oh my god, we should have practiced (overtime) more,’ so I wrote it down. Against Saint Joseph’s two years ago, that had another lesson. This year I added stuff to the list, and that list grows. But I’m always asking questions.”

Across eight years in Chapel Hill — five as a player and now entering her fourth as head coach — Matson has been part of 159 wins and just 17 losses, good for a staggering .903 win percentage. It’s that same level of introspection and self-evaluation that has helped her navigate the challenge of succeeding Hall of Famer and 10-time national champion Karen Shelton.

The 2025 season may not have ended with Carolina Blue confetti falling, but Matson says one of the biggest, and hardest, lessons she’s learned in her young coaching career is that a season’s success cannot be measured solely by whether a trophy is lifted at the end. 

“No one wins a national championship year after year after year, because it’s really hard to do that,” Matson said. “So it’s finding where that balance is of staying so driven and so hungry with not driving yourself insane — with only the scoreboard or the results mattering.

“Chase perfection, and you land upon excellence — it’s the same kind of thing. Don’t drop the standard, but also, you’ll go insane if you sit there and tell your team that this past season was a failure, because that’s just completely not true.”

As North Carolina turns the page toward 2026-27, a new era is set to begin inside Karen Shelton Stadium. For the first time, Matson’s roster will no longer include any of her former teammates from her own playing days in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels graduated an eight-player senior class this past fall that had been alongside Matson through every step of her coaching journey, including Ryleigh Heck, the program’s seventh all-time leading scorer.

But as powerhouse programs do, North Carolina is positioned to reload rather than rebuild.

Two of those seniors, Molly Catchpole and Grace Pottebaum are set to return for fifth years, while All-ACC standout Charly Bruder is also set to return. Additionally, Matson and her staff will welcome a nine-player recruiting class, of which eight will play right away, Matson said, as a testament to the strength of this recruiting class. 

“They’re young, and trust me, you can still be excellent at something you do with no years of experience,” Matson said. “So it’s more just going to be fun to watch this group really come together.”

The Tar Heels’ 2026 schedule has yet to be released, but it is expected to once again be one of the toughest slates in the country — another opportunity for Matson’s ever-growing list of lessons to continue shaping a program still chasing championships.

“They’re very fun, adaptable, extremely skilled, but have that edge to them — which I’m excited to share with everyone,” Matson said. “You can definitely count on Carolina field hockey — our MO doesn’t change — it’s more just that I am excited for this group to mold that into something that fits them, because I think it’s gonna be with a little flair compared to other years.”

Full Inside Carolina interview with Coach Matson: