A year ago, she played for UNC. Now, this Chadds Ford native is the Tar Heels’ head coach at age 23.

When she was 9 years old, Erin Matson told her father that she wanted to play in the Olympics. At age 13, she had her first stint with the U.S. women’s national indoor field hockey team, and she won gold in the World League Semifinals at age 17 with the U.S. national team.

Her field hockey career started early and progressed quickly. After winning four NCAA championships with North Carolina, the Chadds Ford native has Tar Heels achievements rivaling those of NBA great Michael Jordan and two-time women’s World Cup champion Mia Hamm.

However, Matson’s legacy at Chapel Hill is only beginning. She was named North Carolina’s head coach in January at age 22, becoming one of the youngest Division I coaches in history. She succeeded Karen Shelton, a West Chester graduate, who built the Tar Heels into a national powerhouse before retiring after 42 seasons.

Matson is prepared to continue that standard. The first-year coach has competed on the biggest stage and learned from greats like Shelton along the way — all of which, Matson said, has prepared her for this moment.

“From being the youngest player on a really experienced [national] team, from being a freshman and having an impact on a team that has fifth-years,” Matson said, “that’s been a massive part of my journey.

“I’ve had a lot of people to learn from, a lot of mistakes to learn from, whether they were my own or others. I will do whatever I can to be the best at something. I had that mindset as a player, but carrying that over now into this role and being a coach, I will do whatever it takes to outwork everybody to be the best coach I can be for this group of girls.”

Before trying field hockey, Matson played on a local youth softball team in Landenberg, Pa., where she lived with her parents, Jill and Brian, until she was in seventh grade.

One of Jill’s close friends, Lori Browning, also had a daughter on the team. (Her daughter, Antonia Browning, went on to play softball at West Chester.) Lori Browning told the Matsons about a field hockey clinic at Papermill Park in Newark, Del., and asked, “What do you think about signing our girls up?”

Still to this day, Brian and Jill can recall the moment Erin picked up a stick for the first time. She dribbled on the grass, wearing an oversize tie-dye T-shirt, and had an immediate grasp of the game.

“She had natural athleticism,” said Jill, who played softball and field hockey at Yale. “She was a lefty hitter, she just sort of naturally got down on the right positions and was a fast learner, like coachable. At a very young age, she fell in love with the sport.”

Soon after picking up a stick, Matson asked her parents if she could play on a travel team. She joined WC Eagles, one of the top-ranked clubs in the country, in Spring City, Pa. Learning under coach Jun Kentwell, who was a player on the Chinese national team for eight years, instilled confidence and discipline in Matson.

“They taught her lessons in self-confidence and leadership by putting her in high pressure situations,” said Brian, who played baseball at Delaware. “It was building her to be fearless.”

Matson competed up an age group when she made her first national team appearance with the indoor squad at 13 years old. She started to get used to playing with girls who were stronger and faster, but it encouraged her to work harder.

“It was never a conversation in my own head of like, ‘I’m gifted’ or ‘I’m pretty good at this.’” she said. “[WC Eagles] just taught me things about how to be a great teammate, how to be competitive, things you don’t get taught anywhere else in America.”

Kentwell knew Matson’s work ethic would be her greatest asset. Each training session, Matson, who played forward, would write down everything they were doing that day in a notebook so she wouldn’t forget.

“I was training her individually one day a week, making sure she’s getting the international technique,” Kentwell said. “If she made one mistake, she would grab the ball and repeat it again. She was so dedicated when she made a mistake — she’ll never have an excuse.”

Since most of her time was spent with Team USA, Matson played only her freshman and sophomore year at Unionville High School, from which she graduated in 2018.

Matson is one of two 16-year-olds to be selected to the U.S. women’s field hockey national team. At 17, she recorded her first cap against Australia and recalled playing with many of her future Tar Heel teammates that year, such as Ashley Hoffman, Lauren Moyer, and Julia Young.

“I learned from the older teammates,” Matson said. “I was 17 on the outdoor national team with 30-year-old teammates, who just were married and having conversations about having kids and knew exactly what they needed to eat before pregame meals, while I’m sitting here doing my high school math homework.

“I loved the fact that I was getting exposure to things that I wouldn’t have got without those opportunities.”

“I was never one to get caught up in regrets or what-ifs or comparing myself to a normal high school kid, because I wasn’t; everyone here playing for Carolina wasn’t a normal kid. It was just choices to me, and it set me up for success.”

When asked by younger girls if the international experience felt overwhelming or if she missed out on being a teenager, Matson noted that she couldn’t attend every school event, like senior week, and had to rush from prom to a tournament. But, she explained, it’s important to remember your goals.

“I was never one to get caught up in regrets or what-ifs or comparing myself to a normal high school kid,” she added. “Because I wasn’t. Everyone here playing for Carolina wasn’t a normal kid. It was just choices to me, and it set me up for success.”

Shelton met Matson while competing for WC Eagles. Her niece, Laura Shelton, a former player at Penn, also competed on that team. The club was a recruiting hotbed for UNC, so when Karen Shelton took her yearly visit around Christmastime, Matson stood out immensely.

“She was unselfish,” Shelton said. “She has a knack for scoring goals, she loved to score goals, but she’ll make the right decision at the right time. She has that awareness of what’s going on around her — incredible, well-rounded scope.”

The recruiting process, like most of Matson’s career, started earlier. She committed to UNC during her sophomore year, passing over Duke, Virginia, and Princeton.

Entering college, Matson had one goal: win a national championship. She not only succeeded in doing so, but earned four of five possible NCAA titles in her collegiate career.

She became the second player ever to win the Honda Award, which is given to the best collegiate female athletes, three times — Shelton was the first — and is the Atlantic Coast Conference all-time career leader in goals and points.

“It’s fun for me to have watched her mature as a young woman,” Shelton said. “From changing her hairstyle, dating boys — she always liked the baseball players — to falling in love. The things that student-athletes do, it’s such an important developmental stage in their life. Erin has always been mature beyond her years.”

Shelton led the Tar Heels to a stellar 2022 season. Behind Matson as a fifth-year student, the team finished undefeated (21-0) while capturing the program’s 10th NCAA and 25th ACC crown.

At the end of the season, Shelton, 65, announced her retirement. She left the program as the winningest coach in the history of the sport. Matson, then 22, had considered going into coaching in the past, so after talking with her coach and her parents, she thought, why not take a chance on this opportunity.

“It was a long process, multiple rounds of interviews,” Matson said. “I got a text from our athletic director later on saying, ‘Hey, are you free tomorrow?’ I was thinking, ‘Is this a good text or Is this bad text?’ Definitely didn’t sleep well that night. When I came into the office the next morning, he slid a paper across, offering me the job.

“It was emotional. I’ll never forget the moment and just how grateful I was, I can’t say thank you enough for Bubba Cunningham [UNC’s director of athletics] and the board of trustees for taking a chance on me.”

“A lot of kids look up to Erin Matson. She’s a leader in our sport; she was as a player, and she will be as a coach.”

She first called her parents, then Shelton, to relay the news, and the celebration began. Matson brings a needed refresh to the program, Shelton said, and she understands the culture of the team.

In many ways Shelton and Matson are alike. The coach took over UNC in 1981 — when she had just turned 23. She also played seven years on the national team and competed on the 1984 Olympic team while coaching.

“She’s young enough to still play at the absolute elite level,” Shelton said. “A lot of kids look up to Erin Matson. She’s a leader in our sport; she was as a player, and she will be as a coach.”

Matson heavily weighed the thought of putting her playing career on hold. Although, she hasn’t yet realized her dream of competing in the Olympics, it doesn’t mean that the door is closed. Her focus in the meantime, though, is to empower the female athletes around her.

“This is where I wanted to put my energy,” Matson said, “This team deserves the best coach in the country, and that’s what I will try to do for them every single day. I can’t do that if I’m putting my energy elsewhere. If the stars align down the road, then so be it, and we can figure it out — great. But if not, I’m happy and fulfilled as can be with being in the coaching role.”