Katie Dixon (right) celebrates following the 2023 NCAA championship. (Photo provided by UNC athletics.)
Note: The Carolina Champions series asks Tar Heel athletes to share memories from title-winning seasons. This month, we feature an athlete Carolina fans may recognize from the recent “Heelprint” television spot.
While “U-N-C” obviously stands for the University of North Carolina, for the athletic department, “U-N-C” can also stand for the “University of National Champions.” Of Carolina’s 50 NCAA National Championships, more than 20% have been captured by the field hockey program, which has hoisted the trophy 11 times, including five in the past six years.
For more than 40 years, from 1981-2022, the Field Hockey program was led by legendary head coach Karen Shelton, the winningest head coach in NCAA field hockey history. When Coach Shelton retired following the 2022 season, many people wondered who her successor would be.
The team did not have to look far to find her replacement, as Erin Matson ’22, a three-time National Player of the year – including during Shelton’s final season in 2022 – and five-time ACC player of the year, transitioned from the field to the sidelines, becoming the youngest coach in NCAA history. While the name on the head coach’s office changed, the winning ways continued, as Matson led the Tar Heels to the program’s seventh consecutive ACC Championship and back-to-back National Championships.
A key contributor for both Coach Shelton’s final team and Coach Matson’s first team was midfielder Katie Dixon ’24, who played in every game during both campaigns and was named team captain during the 2023 season. Having the rare perspective of winning a National Championship under two separate coaches, Dixon, who plans to use final year at UNC in 2024 to seek a fourth National Championship ring, shared her thoughts on some of the Championship seasons she experienced while at Carolina.
Q: You’ve been part of a pretty special era of Carolina field hockey. What does it mean to you to be part of those teams at Carolina who have won four ACC titles and three National Championships?
Dixon: It’s meant the world to me. I grew up a “Tar Heel,” and always wanted to go to UNC. Honestly, playing field hockey here has been a dream come true in the first place. But then, to be a part of this era, has been something truly special. Ending Coach Shelton’s career with a national championship and then starting Erin’s with the national championship. You couldn’t ask for anything better.
There definitely has been ups and downs throughout the years at Carolina, but throughout the whole time, I think both coaches have taught me different lessons not only in field hockey but in life that I’ll take with me throughout my entire life – and not only playing with Erin, but also being coached by her, has been awesome to experience and to honestly walk through that with the team has been remarkable.
Q: You mentioned lessons being taught by both Coach Shelton and Coach Matson. What were some of those lessons?
Dixon: With Coach Shelton, it was mainly how to get through the mental side of the game. She made me so mentally strong and that when I was on the field. There’s always a lot of pressure coming, not only from your teammates but the coach, your fans. North Carolina is always the top dog, so you have to be able to get through that mentally. And I think Coach Shelton made me mentally strong. The way that we prep for games, the way we went about our game strategy, everything, you had to be on your game. She taught me not to take things personally and that made me a better leader when I got to be a captain of Erin’s team.
I think the lesson that Erin taught me is to just focus on yourself and to have confidence in the skills that you have developed throughout your whole career. Erin is really strong on the fundamentals. That’s what she stressed throughout her whole playing career. So, as a coach, she tells us, “if you do the simple things right, and the little things right, then you’re going to be a great player.” That also applies off the field. If you do the little things right in the classroom, then that’s going to set you up for success later on in your career.
Q: Thinking back to those, specifically the two national championship seasons, Coach Shelton’s last season and Coach Matson’s first season, were there any big similarities or differences that kind of stick out to you between those two seasons?
Dixon: With both seasons, we definitely had ups and downs throughout the seasons, but obviously Coach Shelton’s final season, we went undefeated season with her. We were always kind of perceived as being the team to beat. And then Erin’s first season, I think we had some pressure coming in. Like, okay, they don’t have Erin [on the field] anymore. What are they going to be like?
There’s kind of like this unknown throughout the whole season and obviously we did lose some games. There was a big one against Iowa at the beginning of the season, Liberty in the middle of the season, and then Virginia towards the end where people were questioning us, like, can they actually do it again.
This past season was so special because we were able to come together as a team and prove those people wrong, that, hey, we are still the top dog. And yeah, we’ll have our ups and downs, but if we play like Carolina Field Hockey, then we can accomplish greatness.
Q: Are there any memorable moments from either of the past two National Championship games that you remember?
Dixon: There’s so many, but I would say from this past season, the double overtime and shootout in the National Championship game. There were so many moments during the overtime where I thought “Oh, we have a stroke. Riley [Heck] is going to put it away here.” And then we missed the stroke. Then, Northwestern had a breakaway and Maddie [Kahn] comes in with a clutch save.
Specifically, for me, the shootout at the end of the game. We had practiced those in practice. I remember our assistant coach at the time had told me how to fix my shootout so I could get more of an angle and that was in practice the week before. And I remember taking that shootout and thinking to myself, “Okay, it’s just like practice. I got to do it like he said, and then I’ll be fine.” I remember the pressure of that shootout, too. I’ve never had that much pressure, honestly, in my life.
As a team, there were definitely so many special moments. I think the last one, of course, would be when Riley put it away and we all rushed to the field and dogpiled. That was awesome.
Q: You’re planning on using your “COVID year” for an additional year of eligibility in 2024. The goal for you is obviously a fifth ACC Championship, and fourth National Championship. What’s the team’s mindset this offseason heading into the 2024 season and how you’re going to accomplish that?
Dixon: I think every season is a new season and we always stress that. It’s a new group of girls, with a new group of first-years coming in. A big thing for our team is just sticking to how UNC field hockey plays and making sure everyone’s on the same page with that. Coming into a new season, we always go over our standards as a team and just go over our basic gameplay, setting our team up for success. We want to make sure that we’re doing the little things right, like I was saying earlier.
Making sure everyone is on the same page and honestly, just working through the little kinks that we have to get out throughout the season. As long as we stick to our goals and our principles and our values, I think we’re looking great coming into this next season, but I think we’re putting the last season in the past and we’re focused on the future.
As told to Andrew Stilwell ’12. Support for UNC Athletics programs helps propel excellence on the field and beyond. Learn more.
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