CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Erin Matson knew her proposal was bold. Audacious, even. But she was steadfast in her conviction as she surprised North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham with a visit to his office last August.
She wanted him to consider her for the UNC field hockey coaching position.
Two issues, though:
1. The job wasn’t open; Karen Shelton had been the Tar Heels’ head coach for 40-plus years, winning nine national championships in that span.
2. Matson was 22 years old … and an active player on the team.
But Matson was no ordinary player. Even on a campus that produced legends Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly, Matson had a strong case as the best female competitor in school history. In her first four years in Chapel Hill, Matson led UNC to three national championships and two undefeated seasons, winning the Honda Sports Award — the field hockey equivalent of national player of the year — twice. The ACC’s all-time leader in goals and points, the 5-foot-4 co-captain also scored in all three title victories, including the game-decider as a freshman in 2018 and the game-winner in overtime in 2020.
“The Michael Jordan of field hockey,” Shelton calls her.
And yet, here was Matson — juggling a fall internship, final coursework for her journalism degree, and a…
