Caitlin Van Sickle

Biography

Caitlin Van Sickle, a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, joined the Tar Heel coaching staff in January of 2022. Van Sickle, a starting defender on UNC's 2009 NCAA Championship team, brought to Chapel Hill experience in college and club coaching in addition to her collegiate and international playing background. Van Sickle played for the Tar Heels from 2009-12, starting all four years and earning first-team All-America, All-Atlantic Coast Conference and All-ACC Tournament honors in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She helped the Tar Heels to ACC titles in 2011 and 2012 and was the ACC Tournament MVP in 2012 as a senior. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the 2009 NCAA Championship and played in the title game all four years. The program's Defensive Player of the Year Award is named in her honor. After graduating from UNC in 2013, Van Sickle played six years as part of the U.S. National Team. That stint included 148 international caps and appearances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil and the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, where the U.S. won a bronze medal. Van Sickle, known as Poppy, was one of five Tar Heels on that Pam Am Games team, along with alums Ashley Hoffman, Lauren Moyer and Julia Young, and current Carolina head coach Erin Matson. Van Sickle retired from playing in 2019 and served as Director of Coaching at Powerhouse Field Hockey Club in Wayne, Pa., before joining the Princeton staff in 2021. She spent one season wi