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Wildcat Field Hockey Wins at Central Michigan

by | Aug 31, 2021

The Wildcats were on the road for their first games of the season, but will be home for a game on Sept. 12. This photo from 2019.

 

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Izzy Moody scored with 11:21 to play to lead the Davidson field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Central Michigan Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to get their first victory of the season and their second over CMU in the calendar year.

“Going into today’s game, we were really focused on bringing our energy,” said Davidson coach Zoe Almquist. “Playing back-to-back games is tough, and this group played smart and also gritty hockey to get the win today. I’m so proud of our whole team, and, in particular, thankful for our defensive unit for hanging strong under a decent amount of pressure down the stretch.”

Moody scored from right of the cage amid a flurry of activity, which also included Natalie Naticchia getting her stick on the ball.

“We talk about layering in behind one another in order to keep the ball in play, and Izzy did a great job of taking that rebound and quickly sending it home,” said Almquist.

CMU took its 1-0 lead at the 20:45 mark with a Kate Biglin goal. But Davidson responded at the 34:56 mark after defending a Chippewas penalty corner. A quick counterattack resulted in a transition opportunity, and facing a lone defender, Abby Pompeo found fellow freshman Macy Curtis on a right-to-left pass. Curtis finished to tie it.

Almquist said the goal was a textbook defensive corner breakout goal. Evie Lake picked up the ball off a foul and sent a long ball ahead to Pompeo.

Davidson Field Hockey Seniors (l-r) Kate Meeks (6), Lauren Gamper (10), Hannah Fisher (12), Anna Brewer (19), Paige Albert (1), and Morgan French (11).

“We’ve really been focusing on quick restarts from free hits, and she did just that,” said Almquist. “Abby reads the defense so well and knew we had a 2-v-1 opportunity. She set up Macy perfectly. And then to have Macy put it away in that fashion was just so exciting, too.”

Davidson, which led the shot count 15-11 Sunday, also defeated CMU on March 18, winning 4-1 during the pandemic-delayed 2020 campaign.

Up Next
The Wildcats will play on the road next weekend as well. They’ll visit Columbia Friday, Sept. 3 and Hofstra two days later.

News of Davidson Editor’s Note – You might be wondering how the Wildcats wound up playing at Central Michigan. Clearly this was not an A-10 conference match. The Wildcat connections to CMU are strong. CMU Head Coach Catherine “CO” Ostoich was the assistant coach at Davidson for several years. One of her assistant coaches at CMU is former Davidson Wildcat standout scholar-athlete Hanna Fisher.

 

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