NEWS

 

The Wildcats’ Lacrosse team opened this season at Clemson, and it was the first game played in Clemson’s new stadium. The first of its kind stadium in the United States, a facility dedicated exclusively to lacrosse. When Davidson scholar-athlete Payton Cheedle scored the first goal in Clemson’s stadium, I took the time to write about it.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, and one little thought kept running through the back of my mind. I hoped that I hadn’t jinxed the Wildcats as they were warming up before the first game on Field 76. The last thing I wanted was to have the first goal, the first point on Field 76 and in the Davidson College Stadium, to be scored by the opposing team. In this case, the VCU Rams.

And while Davidson’s newest athletic field will be shared space between Wildcats’ Lacrosse and Football, a similar “history making” scenario was on tap. It had been more than 100 years since the first game was played on the field in Richardson Stadium, the old venue for those sports. The stadium itself was finished in 1924, and has had numerous changes and upgrades over the past century.

Following the introduction of the teams and scholar-athletes, and the playing of the National Anthem, I was fixated on the two players approaching the center of Field 76. The VCU player in black, and Davidson in white, they stood in the middle of the large interlocked D and C. And with the sound of the official’s whistle, the game began.

When the Wildcats won the draw, I breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, they didn’t score on that possession. When I saw VCU go on offense, that little voice was saying “please, not a jinx.”

What was I worried about? VCU didn’t even get a shot on goal before a player missed the ball and it went out of bounds. Turnover, possession Davidson, and the ‘Cats headed back down the field. VCU initially put up a decent defense, but with 31 seconds on the shot clock Allie Harnett #27 fired one past the VCU goalie. The announcer roared “Gooooooaaaaal Wildcats!”

The celebratory music played. And the announcer followed it with “Your Davidson goal by Allie Hartnett, that’s her eighth goal of the season, assisted by Julianne Carey.” As the music continued, the announcer said “Allie, Julianne, you and your teammates take a bow. You have just scored the first points on Field 76 at Davidson College Stadium.” Meanwhile, the crowd was cheering, players and coaches were cheering, and Davidson goalie Kayla Joyce was using her stick to hit on the goal pipes in excitement.

(You can watch the video of that goal in our album of coverage from the game.)

A few minutes later I watched Athletic Director Chris Clunie make his way down the stadium stairs. He yelled out to one of the young Athletic Department staff members who was behind the VCU goal. He yelled “get that ball!” And with that, the staff member brought the ball over to Clunie.

History. This was the first goal scored in the Wildcats’ new facility.

And the Wildcats followed up that first goal with 17 more. The final score was 18-7, a decisive win for the ‘Cats over the VCU Rams.

Oh, and Allie Hartnett not only scored the first goal, she also went on to score two more in the first two quarters and added a fourth before the end of the game. She led the ‘Cats in scoring. Two Wildcats, Riley Cochrane and Josie Lambert, were right behind her with three goals each.

See the full album of photos and video from the game.