UNC Field Hockey captures third straight National title

The UNC Field Hockey program continues their dominance, as they completed the national championship “three-peat.”

With the 2020 season being cancelled due to COVID-19, the UNC field hockey team had to wait an extra year to defend their back-to-back national championships.

After a long, anticipated wait, the results remained the same for the program, as the lady Tar Heels captured their third straight title.

In a nail-biter, the Tar Heels came out on top, as they defeated the Michigan Wolverines in overtime by a final score of 4-3. This victory marks the ninth national championship for the UNC field hockey program, all of which have come under the direction of head coach Karen Shelton.

After falling behind early, it took the Tar Heels just 33 seconds to knot up the score, as Erin Matson scored her first goal of the game at the 9:51 mark of the first period. In the second period, Bryn Boylan scored a penalty stroke goal to give the Tar Heels a 2-1 lead heading into the second half of play.

In the third period, the Tar Heels would extend their lead, as Mia Leonhardt scored her 28th goal of the season. However, the two goal cushion would not last, as the Wolverines were able to tie up the score prior to the fourth period of play.

After a scoreless fourth, the game would head into overtime. This is where Matson would become the hero, and capture the coveted “three-peat” for the UNC field hockey program.

Not many programs can say that they’ve had the same success as the UNC field hockey team has during Karen Shelton’s reign as the team’s head coach. The “three-peat” just shows that the program is still the best in the country, and from the looks of it, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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