North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey

North Carolina Tar Heels
field hockey
North Carolina Tar Heels; field hockey
University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Head coach	Erin Matson (2nd season)
Conference	ACC
Location	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Stadium	Karen Shelton Stadium ; (Capacity: 1,000)
Nickname	Tar Heels
Colors	Carolina blue and white;
Home	Away
NCAA Tournament championships
	1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
NCAA Tournament runner-up
	1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016
NCAA Tournament Semifinals
	1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances
	1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
	1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

The North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I field hockey.

History

Field hockey has been played at the University of North Carolina since the 1940s, but it only became a varsity sport in 1971 when the school was a charter member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The team won several state AIAW championships and finished second twice in the AIAW Southern Region II tournament before joining the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the 1982 season.

Stadium

Originally operated as Navy Field, it was redeveloped as a multi-use stadium, Francis E. Henry Stadium, primarily for the use by field hockey. The stadium, with a 1,086 seating capacity, was opened on April 24, 1999. It was heavily renovated in 1999, with a private donation to UNC. The Francis E. Henry Stadium was demolished in 2017.^[3]

In August 2018, the Tar Heels inaugurated a new stadium complex dedicated solely to field hockey and named in honor of their head coach, Karen Shelton. Karen Shelton Stadium is a modern 900-seat stadium with additional standing-room space with a total capacity of 1,000. The stadium includes fan amenities (e.g., concessions and restrooms), three-level press and scorers boxes, and LED sport lighting and an LED video scoreboard. The Polytan field surface is considered rare among collegiate field hockey and has been described by USA Field Hockey as "top-of-the-line".^[4]

The stadium complex also includes a 10,000 square foot team building with home and visitor locker rooms, an area for team meals and functions, theater, sports medicine space, a players' lounge, meeting space and coaches' offices.^[5]

Karen Shelton Stadium has been described by the international field hockey press as the best field hockey facility in the United States and "one of the best facilities anywhere in world hockey".^[6]

All-time record

Year	Head Coach	Overall	ACC	ACC Tournament	NCAA Tournament
1971	Beth Ross	0–0	–	–	–
1972	Chip Johnson	0–0	–	–	–
1973	Ann Gregory	0–0	–	–	–
1974		4–3–2	–	–	–
1975		4–2–1	–	–	–
1976	Dolly Hunter	4–6–1	–	–	–
1977		13–4–1	–	–	–
1978		18–5	–	–	–
1979		11–5–1	–	–	–
1980		8–7	–	–	–
1981	Karen Shelton	8–9–1	–	–	–
1982		11–8	–	–	–
1983		13–4–3	2–0	Champions	First round
1984		14–5	3–0	Champions	First round
1985		13–4	2–1	Champions	Second round
1986		19–3	3–0	Champions	Semifinals
1987		19–2	2–1	Champions	Runner up
1988		18–2	3–0	Champions	Second round
1989		20–2	3–0	Champions	Champions
1990		20–4	2–1	Champions	Runner up
1991		15–6–1	2–1	Champions	Runner up
1992		14–7–1	4–0	Runner up	Semifinals
1993		16–3–3	3–1	Champions	Runner up
1994		21–2	8–0	Champions	Runner up
1995		24–0	8–0	Champions	Champions
1996		23–1	8–0	Champions	Champions
1997		20–3	3–1	Champions	Champions
1998		13–8	2–2	Semifinals	Second round
1999		16–6	2–2	Semifinals	Second round
2000		20–4	4–0	Runner up	Runner up
2001		14–7	2–2	Semifinals	First round
2002		9–1	3–1	Semifinals	–
2003		16–6	2–2	Semifinals	First round
2004		21–2	4–0	Champions	Second round
2005		14–7	2–3	Semifinals	First round
2006		13–9	1–4	Semifinals	First round
2007		24–0	5–0	Champions	Champions
2008		14–6	3–2	Semifinal	First round
2009		20–2	4–1	First round	Champions
2010		22–2	4–1	Runner up	Runner up
2011		23–2	5–0	Champions	Runner up
2012		23–3	6–0	Champions	Runner up
2013		18-6	3-3	Runner up	Semifinal
2014		19–4	4–2	Semifinal	Semifinal
2015		21–3	4–2	Champions	Runner up
2016		20–6	3–3	Runner up	Runner up
2017		18–5	3–3	Champions	Semifinal
2018		23–0	6–0	Champions	Champions
2019		23–0	6–0	Champions	Champions
2020		19–1	9–1	Champions	Champions
2021		13–7	4–2	Champions	First round
2022		21–0	6–0	Champions	Champions
2023	Erin Matson	18–3	5–1	Champions	Champions

Individual honors

	Name	Year(s)
Honda Award (National Player of the Year)	Rachel Dawson	2007
	Ashley Hoffman	2018
	Leslie Lyness	1989
	Erin Matson	2019, 2020, 2022
	Cindy Werley	1996, 1997
NFHCA National Player of the Year	Katelyn Falgowski	2011
NFHCA National Player of the Year	Erin Matson	2019, 2020, 2022
First Team All-Americans	Peggy Anthon	1990
	Kate Barber	1995, 1996, 1997
	Lori Bruney	1986, 1987
	Cinda Carpenter	1993
	Jennifer Clark	1990, 1991
	Amy Cox	1992
	Charlotte Craddock	2012
	Rachel Dawson	2004, 2007
	Joy Driscoll	1995
	Maryellen Falcone	1986, 1987
	Katelyn Falgowski	2009, 2011
	Jesse Gey	2007
	Barbara Hansen	1994
	Ryleigh Heck	2022
	Amanda Hendry	2020
	Laurel Hershey	1990
	Louise Hines	1984, 1985
	Ashley Hoffman	2017, 2018
	Judith Jonckheer	1985
	Kelsey Keeran	2003, 2004
	Jackie Kintzer	2009, 2010
	Kelsey Kolojejchick	2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
	Yentl Leemans	2019
	Carrie Lingo	2001
	Leslie Lyness	1988, 1989
	Erin Matson	2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
	Kristen McCann	2000
	Nina Notman	2015
	Nancy Pelligreen	1998
	Mary Sentementes	1983, 1984
	Kathy Staley	1989
	Meredith Sholder	2022
	Peggy Storrar	1993
	Jana Toepel	1998, 1999, 2000
	Amy Tran	2000
	Katy Tran	2005
	Eva van't Hoog	2017, 2018
	Caitlin Van Sickle	2010, 2011, 2012
	Cindy Werley	1994, 1996, 1997
	Jana Withrow	1996, 1997
	Emily Wold	2013, 2014, 2015
	Julia Young	2016
	Tracey Yurgin	1987
ACC Player(s) of the Year	Kate Barber	1995
	Amy Cox	1992
	Rachel Dawson	2004, 2007
	Barbara Hansen	1994
	Leslie Lyness	1989
	Erin Matson	2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
	Kristen McCann	2000
	Caitlin Van Sickle	2010, 2011, 2012
	Cindy Werley	1996, 1997
National Coach of the Year	Karen Shelton	1994, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
ACC Coach of the Year	Karen Shelton	1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2022

Kit number seven (honoring Leslie Lyness), number nine (honoring Rachel Dawson) and number thirteen (honoring Cindy Werley) have been retired.

References

Citations

^ GoHeels.com. "Erin Matson named field hockey head coach". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^ "Primary Identity" (PDF). Carolina Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines. April 20, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "Field Hockey Stadium". ramsclub.com. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
^ "Get to Know FIH Hockey Pro League Venue, Karen Shelton Stadium". USA Field Hockey. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
^ "Karen Shelton Stadium". Ram's Club. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
^ "North Carolina hockey 'has best facilities in the US'". The Hockey Paper. 28 February 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2021.

Bibliography

Gelin, Dana, ed. (2019). 2019 Carolina Field Hockey Yearbook (PDF). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: UNC Athletic Communications office. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
UNC Field Hockey Record Book (PDF). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: UNC Athletic Communications office. 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2021.