Ryleigh Heck’s field hockey career won’t end at North Carolina. It’s just beginning with Team USA.

If a young Ryleigh Heck could see herself now, the North Carolina star forward probably would scream or cry in happiness.

“I’m just happy that I am where I am today,” Heck said. “I’m a captain on the UNC field hockey team. That’s something I thought I would never say. I’m a member of the USA field hockey team. Something else I never thought I would say.

“I’m very grateful and will probably never stop working until I’m retired.”

Heck, who grew up in Shamong, Burlington County, has checked off quite a few milestones in her field hockey career. She was named an All-American out of Eastern Regional High School, where she played on three state title teams and set the national single-season scoring record during her senior season in 2021.

She’s only grown since. Heck, a four-year starter on a top-ranked North Carolina team, has been a vital offensive contributor since she joined the Tar Heels as a freshman, when she finished second in scoring to her current coach, Erin Matson.

Her success — which includes two NCAA championships and four ACC titles — helped her earn several accolades. She was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Player of the Year and won the Honda Sport Award in 2023. But Heck isn’t satisfied.

She and North Carolina (19-1), the top overall seed, will host St. Joseph’s (12-9) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C. (noon, ESPN+). UNC has won all seven of its home games this season.

These two teams are building some history. They met in last year’s semifinals, and St. Joe’s upset UNC, 2-1.

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Heck, who leads North Carolina in points (47) and goals (17), says the group was focused on the results of the entire tournament last year, instead of staying present. So that’s been the message since the Tar Heels clinched their ninth consecutive ACC title: to “not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I’m going leave it all out there,” Heck said. “I’ll work the hardest I’ve ever worked. I don’t care if I have a broken nose, I’m pushing myself to finish that game. I want to come out on top, and I’m going to do everything I can to prepare myself and the team. We’re going to take advantage of every situation and every minute in the game.”

Her work ethic is second to none. While this is the home stretch of Heck’s college playing career, it certainly won’t be the end. The 21-year-old has a bright future on Team USA.

She began competing on the under-17 national team in her freshman year at Eastern and was elevated to the under-21 team as a senior. In 2022, she was named to the senior national team and has since been a key member of Team USA.

Heck won a silver medal in the 2025 Pan American Cup this summer — where she scored off a penalty corner and stroke to seal a 4-2 win over host Uruguay in the semifinals — and gold in the 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup in Calgary.

“It improves my game and makes me a faster player,” Heck said of playing internationally. “It teaches me how to handle adversity, how to play against the best players in the world, and how to be a professional athlete.

“I didn’t really know how good I was until I started playing against some of the top players.”

Picking up a stick at age 3, Heck had the influence of her mother, Kerry Heck, once a lacrosse and field hockey player at James Madison. Ryleigh Heck instantly loved the sport.

Heck first played with Spirit USA, a club based in South Jersey, then switched to nationally ranked WC Eagles in Spring City, Chester County, at about 11 years old. That’s where she experienced the sacrifice that comes with playing more frequently and against better teams, but it’s exactly what she wanted.

“I begged my parents to move me to that club,” Heck said. “They were just so good, and l wanted to become a better player. … The drive [stunk], honestly, because I’d get home super late, and then I’d have to leave school early. Sometimes I would stay at my grandparents’ house 20 minutes away from the club.”

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s advances in NCAA field hockey tournament with a win over Drexel

However, playing for her high school team was just as special. Heck was coached by her mother for four seasons at Eastern, while she also played with her older sister, Kara, for two years. Ryleigh didn’t think she would get the chance to play with Kara again after high school.

That is, until this season, when Kara, a forward, transferred to North Carolina as a graduate student after spending a season at Rutgers, using her final year of eligibility. She spent three years at Boston College but was sidelined for the majority of her first two collegiate seasons because of injury.

“She was such a role model to me,” Ryleigh said of Kara, who is two years older. “She was always the best player on the field growing up. She wanted to win every single game.

“UNC was lucky enough to find her, and that was an incredible feeling for her, me, and the whole family because we haven’t been able to play with each other in six years. It’s always so much fun playing together. It was definitely a really happy moment for our family.”

Heck has had quite the career at North Carolina. After she graduates, she intends to move to Charlotte, N.C., where Team USA is based, to train. She’ll have her sights set on making the roster for this summer’s World Cup games.

But let’s not get too far ahead. Right now, it’s about finishing “my college career with success.”

“The Olympics are on my mind,” she said. “But I have to stay present and work for the first thing.”