Heck And Matson Earn Individual Honors, Five Tar Heels Make All-ACC Teams

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference has named North Carolina junior Ryleigh Heck their Offensive Player of the Year and second-year head coach Erin Matson their Coach of the Year with five Tar Heels earning spots on the conference's All-ACC teams. The announcement was made on Monday afternoon.

Heck, the reigning Honda Award winner, has been phenomenal once again this season as the driving force at the front of the Carolina offense. Taking on a playmaker role on top of her goal scoring prowess, she has already amassed an ACC leading 15 assists (five more than the rest of her career combined) to go with her 12 goals.

It is the 23rd time a player of the year award has been won by a Tar Heel and Heck is the 13th different player in program history to add her name to the historical list. She had previously won Freshman of the Year honors in 2022.

"Ryleigh absolutely deserves this, and we couldn't be prouder of her," Matson said. "She knows this award, along with the many others, would not be possible without the hard work of her teammates and they are just as happy for her as we are. She is so dedicated to her craft, and it shows by how much her skill and IQ impact every game. We're so excited for Ry to continue representing Carolina so well and helping our program chase championships."

Just two years removed from winning her fifth ACC Offensive Player of the Year honor as a player (the only person to do so in any sport), Matson wins her first and the programs 13^th Coach of the Year award. She is just the second person in league history to win the individual awards as both a player and a coach (Kelly Doton).

In her second regular season at the helm, Matson has led the Tar Heels to a 15-0 record, an ACC Regular Season title, and the No. 1 seed at this week's ACC tournament. Her team has beaten nine ranked opponents and holds a +54 goal differential. Eight times they have scored five goals in a game paired with nine shutouts.

"Receiving this award is another byproduct of hard the team, staff, and I work together to be the best on a daily basis," Matson said. "I'm so proud of this team and my incredible staff for bringing this recognition home. I'm fortunate to have the support I have at Carolina, and I'm excited about the future of this program. Tar Heel Nation we'll keep working hard for you!"

Heck is joined by four of her Carolina teammates in the All-ACC Teams. Heck, sophomore forward Charly Bruder, and junior midfielder Sietske Brüning earned spots on the first team while seniors Katie Dixon and Kelly Smith claimed their place on the second team.

It is the third time Heck has made All-ACC and the second times for Bruder, Brüning and Smith. The Tar Heels have the most players named amongst the teams with five.

Bruder, who has been excellent on the attack this season, leads the conference and the country in goals (21) and has been named ACC Player of the Week three times. Brüning, who captains the team alongside Dixon, is the midfield that engine that ties everything together. She has logged four goals and three assists in her junior campaign.

Senior superstars Dixon and Smith have played a combined 169 games in Carolina blue and are rightly being recognized for their hard work all over the field this year. Dixon as two goals and six assists, including a pair of each against Duke in the regular season finale. Smith won Defensive Player of the Week just last week as part of an incredible season in the Tar Heel backline that's given her career highs in goals and assists.

Heck And Matson Earn Individual Honors, Five Tar Heels Make All-ACC Teams

Players Mentioned

Charly Bruder

Katie Dixon

Ryleigh Heck

Kelly Smith

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