Heck practices ball control on her home field. | Photo by Joshua Dolgoff
Story by Joshua Dolgoff
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TRACK 1: If there’s one thing to know about UNC Field Hockey forward Ryleigh Heck…
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TRACK 2: It’s that she’s never satisfied. And coming off of back-to-back national championships, there’s no slowing down for the sophomore phenom.
SOT 1: :08 “You’re not done until the last second of a game, the last second of the season, so like you don’t stop working on and off the field doing the extra work.”
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:14 Ryleigh Heck/UNC Field Hockey Forward
TRACK 3: An Ocean City, New Jersey native, Heck first picked up a field hockey stick at just 3 years old. Being coached by her mother, Kerry, along with being the youngest of four siblings, Ryleigh’s competitive nature would only grow from her sporting endeavors with her family.
SOT 2: :13 “Obviously being the youngest I was the weaker one, always too little to do stuff but I always wanted to. And I’d lose a lot and I hated losing, so like really I just had to fight through it.”
TRACK 4: But its these family rivalries that have molded Heck into the player she is today as she has dominated in her first two seasons as a Tar Heel, racking up 72 points including 31 goals. To head coach Erin Matson, Heck’s flashy yet savvy style of play makes it a nightmare for opposing defenses to stop.
SOT 3: :11 “Her vision’s top notch, her skill is unmatched, and she’s very creative. You can try to scout her this and that but she’s so smart that she’ll be able to adapt and change in the moment.”
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1:12 Erin Matson/UNC Field Hockey Head Coach
TRACK 5: Leave it to Heck to have a trick up her sleeve when you least expect it. In the ACC Championship game this past season, Heck scored this incredible air dribble goal that took the field hockey world by storm. But it’s Heck’s work ethic that has sharpened this creativity, and it has pushed her fellow teammates to strive for greatness just like her.
SOT 4: :10 “She’s just a role model I mean she comes to the field almost every day. She’s so willing to be the best that she can, she puts 110% into every single practice. And when I saw that I was like I want to be like Ryleigh Heck.”
1:35 Charly Bruder/UNC Field Hockey Forward
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Fast forward to the 2023 National Championship game on this very field where Heck would step up to take the biggest shot of her life. And after countless hours of perfecting her craft, there was no one more prepared for the moment than #12 in Carolina blue.
SOT 5: :06 “I had full confidence in her I know we all did. And it was purely just Ry go win us a national championship.”
SOT 6: :08 “I kinda was overly confident because shootouts is one of my favorite things to do, so literally no doubts at all and just went for it.”
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SOT 7: 08: “Just a rush of just like, happiness, like relief that like I was just like there for my team.”
TRACK 6: Heck’s game winner shows that there’s another field hockey star in the making at Carolina, and while the recent Honda Award Winner could take her time off to bask in the glory, she’s going to remain unsatisfied as she carries the torch of the UNC Field Hockey dynasty. I’m Joshua Dolgoff, reporting.
