COLUMN: Field hockey has been the gold standard of UNC athletics since 2009

What if I told you the most successful sports program at North Carolina since 2009 was not the men’s basketball team?

As you probably know, in 2009, head coach Roy Williams guided a team featuring Tyler Hansbrough, the all-time leading scorer in ACC men’s basketball history, to a second national championship in five years. 

But what I’m guessing you don’t know is that in the same calendar year, Karen Shelton steered the field hockey program to a national title as well. In the process, her team began a run that is unparalleled in the current scope of UNC athletics.

Currently in her 38th season at the helm, Shelton owns a 650-164-9 mark and possesses six national championship trophies. Yet it’s a streak of nine consecutive trips to the Final Four since 2009, the year Shelton won her sixth national title at UNC, that interests me.

One year removed from an induction into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Shelton led her team to a 20-2 season, one that culminated in a 3-2 win over Maryland in the 2009 national championship.

Over the next eight years, Shelton proceeded to reach the title game five more times and reached the semifinals thrice more.

To put that in perspective, the men’s basketball team and women’s soccer team have combined for just six Final Fours since 2009, with each making three. While that achievement is impressive, it doesn’t add up to Shelton’s success.

Women’s lacrosse is the closest team to mirroring the run, with head coach Jenny Levy’s squad making seven national semifinals since 2009.

In 2017, UNC looked like it might win a second national championship, meeting undefeated Connecticut on Nov. 17 in the Final Four. 

After falling behind 1-0 in the 42nd minute, midfielder Eva van’t Hoog tied the game in the 69th minute in a game that eventually went into triple overtime, with the Huskies winning the penalty shootout, 3-0.

This year, the second-ranked Tar Heels began what should be another stellar campaign on Aug. 25 by beating two ranked Big 10 opponents in the course of two days. The weekend also marked the unveiling of the Carolina Field Hockey Stadium, a 900-seat facility on South Campus.

And while its construction forced the program to play its home matches on Duke’s campus in 2017, it was surely worth it to thank a coach who is well on her way to achieving her 36th winning record in 38 years.

With three of its four wins over ranked opponents, Shelton fields a team that is likely to reach a 10th consecutive Final Four. The squad also returns two first-team All-Americans from 2017 in van’t Hoog, Ashley Hoffman and third-team All-American Malin Evert.

So, I hope you decide to make your way over to South Campus and watch at least one of the remaining seven regular season home games.

Because while UNC field hockey might not possess the same glamour, fame and attention as the men’s basketball team, it should be every bit as respected and celebrated.

@christrenkle2

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com