UNC vs. Northwestern in 2022 championship
The 2023 DI field hockey national final is a carbon copy of last year’s championship; No. 1 seed UNC versus No. 2 seed Northwestern. And let me tell you, the 2022 championship came down to the wire — Northwestern tied the score 1-1 with less than two minutes remaining, then Erin Matson scored the game-winner 39 seconds later to grant UNC its fourth national title in five years.
Now, this year’s ACC and Big Ten field hockey champions have undergone substantial changes since they’ve last met. Let’s examine their last clash and then delve into what they each bring to the table.
The ingredients
Jumping back a year in time, the Tar Heels and Wildcats met in Storrs, Connecticut for last year’s national championship. The Wildcats were the 2021 reigning champs, having knocked Carolina — who had won the previous three championships — out in the 2021 quarterfinals.
Similarities between the 2022 and 2023 squads?
On Northwestern’s side, freshmen Olivia Bent-Cole and Ilse Tromp have made all the difference for the Wildcats in place of last year’s top scorer, Kayla Blas. The two have both scored double-digit goals this year alongside grad student Peyton Halsey; the three have combined for 33 goals on the season. The scoring triumvirate, teamed up with Big Ten Tournament MVP goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, have escorted NU to the top of the nation in scoring margin at 2.27 (63 goals scored, 13 allowed). After falling to Louisville in its season opener, Northwestern has won 20 consecutive contests, and looks to keep steamrolling in the natty.
For the Tar Heels, the most notable losses are midfielder Meredith Sholder and, of course, leading scorer and three-time Honda Sport Award-winner, Erin Matson. As the newly-appointed head coach, Matson’s been tasked with replacing herself in the Tar Heel attack this year, and she’s deployed quite the artillery in freshmen Charly Bruder and Sanne Hak. Bruder and sophomore Ryleigh Heck have commandeered the Tar Heel scoring, combining for 27 goals this year and ranking No. 2 and No. 4 in the conference for goals scored, respectively. The Tar Heels have also been able to lean on veterans Romea Riccardo and Paityn Wirth to bring maturity to the squad. Riccardo paces the Tar Heel defense, playing a large role in corner defense and stick stops in corner offense. A utility player, Wirth has nine assists on the year and 17 shots on goal.
364 days earlier…
Peering at the lines of last year’s championship, UNC out-shot NU 15-2 and out-cornered the Wildcats 5-1 — Northwestern didn’t even earn its first corner until the fourth period. UNC scored one off the stick of Heck before the half, and it took 41 minutes for Northwestern to equalize… Then less than a minute for UNC to respond with the dagger. None of these goals came from penalty corners, which are each of these teams’ scoring specialty.
If this year’s game is anything like last year’s… We’ll see who strikes first and who can capitalize in last-minute scenarios. Threading a ball through either of these teams’ corner defense is a tall task, so ball-minding inside the circle will be crucial to determine which program edges out the other.
