Barring a “last-minute change of plans,” Univ. of North Carolina field hockey coach Erin Matson will not be allowed to try out for the U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Team because she “didn’t qualify under its selection criteria,” according to Jared Diamond of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. USA Field Hockey denied Matson -- known as the “Michael Jordan of field hockey” -- the opportunity to participate in an Olympic trial in Charlotte yesterday. Sources said that the “core issue” has to do with Matson’s decision to become UNC's head coach “instead of opting to train over the past year with the national team.” Diamond wrote Matson’s pivot from UNC player to UNC coach was an “immediate success and media sensation.” But Matson hoped that she would be “given at least a shot” at trying out for the Olympic squad. In February, Matson asked USA Field Hockey “for a chance to try out.” But in a statement Thursday, Matson said, “My request wasn’t to be an Olympian; my request was to allow me to try out. USA Field Hockey chose not to grant me that opportunity.” On Friday, USA Field Hockey “defended its decision,” saying in a statement that Matson “requested a special exception” to its published qualification rules. The governing body also said that it “invited Matson to try out in early 2023, but she declined.” Diamond noted USA Field Hockey recently asked Matson to meet “not about playing in 2024” but rather to “discuss her potential involvement in the 2026 World Cup or 2028 Olympics” in L.A. Diamond wrote had Matson made the roster, she “would have easily been the highest profile player on the U.S. team” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/5).
