NEWS

It has been a couple years since the ‘Cats played the Georgetown Hoyas at Belk Turf Field.

Davidson’s 2023 field hockey season commences Friday when the Wildcats face Georgetown in a neutral site game at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats are part of a three-team, season-opening event at Towson and after meeting the Hoyas, will then play the host Tigers on Sunday morning.

They’re ready to get started.

“I love our balance, our sense of joy in spending time together and getting to play together,” says head coach Zoe Almquist, who begins her fifth season with the Wildcats. “We all feel so lucky to be a part of Davidson field hockey, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out on the field for us this fall!”

This summer, the Wildcats took a team trip to South Africa, which allowed them to bond on and off the turf — including on ziplines and while looking for sharks. The result of that, as well as other offseason events and two-plus weeks of preseason practices, is a unit that Almquist believes is both diverse and cohesive. There is talent in each class, blending together.

“We talk all the time about how developing a culture is a verb — we have to constantly work at it,” she says. “As a group we’ve found so much cohesion in investing in the process of getting better, together. Our South Africa trip certainly helped us continue to knit those bonds — and I think we all feel grateful to be able to build on that experience this fall.”

The Wildcats return a number of key players, including three — Macy Curtis, Hannah Merritt and Sarah Minges — who started all 19 games a year ago.

Minges, a center back, played a team-high 1,122 minutes last season and tied for the Atlantic 10 lead with five defensive saves. Curtis was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection two seasons ago and continued to fill a key role as a sophomore. And Merritt logged more than 1,000 minutes in the back last season before transitioning into the midfield in the offseason.

Returners Celie Constantine and Sib Naaktgeboren made 16 and 18 starts, respectively, and emerged in their debut seasons in 2022.

Constantine ranked second on the team with 10 points last year and is the Wildcats’ top returning scorer, having scored three goals in her first season. Naaktgeboren had six assists, which tied for the team lead and was fourth in the A-10.

Sarah Grace Clifton, another key returner, was third on the team a year ago with nine points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Cato Roell, who has made 37 career starts, returns in-goal.