ACC Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina senior forward Erin Matson earned Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors for a record-setting fifth time, and three other Tar Heels are recipients of 2022 ACC Field Hockey season awards announced Monday.
Tar Heel senior midfielder Meredith Sholder was recognized as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, while UNC freshman forward Rylie Heck was selected as the conference’s Freshman of the Year. UNC’s Karen Shelton and Wake Forest’s Jennifer Averill, whose teams are seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in this week’s ACC Field Hockey Championship, were selected as the league’s Co-Coaches of the Year.
ACC season awards, along with the 2022 All-ACC Field Hockey Team also announced on Monday, were determined by a vote of the league’s seven head coaches.
Matson, Sholder and Heck were voted to the All-ACC first team. UNC and Wake Forest each had a league-high five players selected All-ACC first or second team. Each of the ACC’s seven field hockey teams had at least two players recognized.
Hailing from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Matson becomes the ACC’s first five-time conference Player of the Year in any sport. Matson enters the ACC Championship as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 321 career points.
Matson has been recognized as the ACC Offensive Player of the Week five times this fall and earned National Offensive Player of the Week from the NFHCA three times.
Sholder, who picked up one NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week honor this fall in addition to ACC accolades, is a key part of a Tar Heel defense that has allowed just 14 goals in 15 games (five in six conference games) while posting eight shutouts.
A native of Alburtis, Pennsylvania, Sholder has chipped in three points on a goal and an assist while starting all 15 of UNC’s games.
Heck ranks 10th in the nation in scoring and earned NFHCA National Player of the Week honors on Oct. 19 after delivering a hat trick to lead the Tar Heels to an ACC win over Syracuse. She followed with another three-goal showing a few days later, leading UNC to a 6-0 win over No. 9 St. Joseph’s.
Heck, of North Beach, New Jersey, enters the ACC Championship having scored 28 points on 13 goals and two assists.
Shelton, college field hockey’s all-time winningest coach with 739 career victories, guided the Tar Heels to a 15-0 overall regular-season record and a 6-0 mark in ACC play. UNC will enter postseason play as the only remaining unbeaten NCAA Division I Field Hockey team. The Tar Heels will be seeking their sixth consecutive ACC Field Hockey Championship and the 25th overall under Shelton’s watch.
The ACC Coach of the Year honor is Shelton’s 12th overall and first since 2020, when she led UNC to its ninth national title.
After being picked to tie for sixth place in the conference in the ACC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Averill’s Wake Forest squad (14-4 overall, 5-1 ACC) become the first Wake Forest team since 2014 to win 14 matches in a season. The Demon Deacons won 14 of their final 16 regular-season games.
Wake Forest was ranked No. 12 in the most recent NFHCA National Poll, one of seven ACC teams among the top 25. Averill earns ACC Coach of the Year honors for the eighth time and first since 2014.
Next up for ACC teams is the 2022 ACC Field Hockey Championship, which opens Tuesday at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium on the campus of Duke University.
North Carolina received a bye into Wednesday’s 1 p.m. semifinal game. The nationally top-ranked Tar Heels will face the winner of Tuesday’s 1 p.m. quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Boston College (8-9, 3-3) and No. 5 Syracuse (14-4, 3-3).
Other opening-day quarterfinal action on Tuesday finds No. 7 Duke (7-10, 0-6) paired against No. 2 Wake Forest at 3:30 p.m., while No. 3 Virginia (11-6, 3-3) faces No. 6 Louisville (12-6, 1-5) at 6 p.m.
ACC Network will show all tournament action live, with Leah Secondo and Suzanne Bush on the call.
2022 All-ACC Field Hockey Team
First Team
Margo Carlin, F, Sr., Boston College
Hannah Miller, F, Sr., Duke
Sasha Elliott, GK, Gr., Louisville
Julie Kouijzer, B, Sr., Louisville
Ryleigh Heck, F, Fr., North Carolina
Erin Matson, F, Sr., North Carolina
Meredith Sholder, M, Sr., North Carolina
Quirine Comans, F, Gr., Syracuse
Daniela Mendez Trendler, M, Fr., Virginia
Annie McDonough, F, Gr., Virginia
Sky Caron, B, Gr., Wake Forest
Meike Lanckohr, M, Sr., Wake Forest
Second Team
Sarah Johnson, M/B, Boston College
Charlie van Oirschot, M, Jr., Duke
Aimee Plumb, F, Jr., Louisville
Sietske Brüning, M, Fr., North Carolina
Ashley Sessa, M, Fr., North Carolina
Charlotte de Vries, F, Sr., Syracuse
Jannemijn Deutman, M, Fr., Syracuse
Eefke van den Nieuwenhof, B, Jr., Syracuse
Adele Iacobucci, M, Sr., Virginia
Jet Trimborn, GK, Fr., Virginia
Grace Delmotte, M, Jr., Wake Forest
Nat Friedman, M, Sr., Wake Forest
Ellie Todd, GK, Fr., Wake Forest
ACC Offensive Player of the Year
Erin Matson, F, Sr., North Carolina
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Meredith Sholder, M, Sr., North Carolina
ACC Freshman of the Year
Ryleigh Heck, F, Fr., North Carolina
ACC Co-Coaches of the Year
Karen Shelton, North Carolina
Jennifer Averill, Wake Forest