NEWS
Field Hockey Has a Two Win Weekend at Home
The Wildcats celebrating Sib Naaktgeboren's score on a penalty corner.
'Cats Hold Off La Salle to Win A-10 Opener
DAVIDSON — The Davidson field hockey team had to withstand a late La Salle rally — and did — in a 3-2 win Friday evening at Belk Turf Field.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 4-3 overall, while La Salle fell to 1-5. It's the first time Davidson has won its A-10 opener since the 2020-21 spring season when the Wildcats defeated Saint Louis.
Sib Naaktgeboren scored her career-best ninth goal of the season 2:01 into the second quarter, helping the Wildcats take a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Their lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth. Lourdes Wolf finished off a goal after a penalty corner in the first minute of the third quarter to make it 2-0, and Celie Constantine scored, also following a corner, with 10:19 to play.
La Salle made it interesting, however, with two goals in the final 8:08, including one as time expired.
Up Next
The Wildcats will host Ohio in non-conference play on Sunday at 12 p.m.
'Cats Top Ohio, Win Fourth Straight
DAVIDSON — Sib Naaktgeboren scored two more goals, and the Davidson field hockey team completed its second straight weekend sweep by defeating Ohio 4-2 Sunday afternoon at Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field.
That extended the Wildcats' win streak to four games, their longest since 2010.
"I'm just really proud of the team hockey and how individuals are contributing to it," said Davidson coach Zoe Almquist, whose team improved to 5-3. "Our ability to use our team strengths to our advantage is just going up and up and up every game. I'm so proud of how they're playing together."
Sunday, Davidson built an early 2-0 lead and then had to respond in the second half after Ohio evened the score by the intermission.
Last week's Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week, Naaktgeboren made sure the Wildcats got on the right track by scoring the go-ahead goal 1:02 into the third quarter. Then, with 1:52 left in the period, she struck again, this time off a penalty corner, with assists from Celie Constantine and Eva van der Kooi.
Naaktgeboren's two-score day took her season total to 11 goals, making her the first Wildcat to score 11 in a season since Finley Amato, the program's all-time leading scorer, had 11 in 2012.
Davidson's Hannah Merritt and Matilda Collins scored in the first quarter, as the Wildcats led 2-0 before 10 minutes had passed. And Almquist praised Merritt, Collins, Liv Goeke and Emma Datch for their play in the back, helping the Wildcats close it out.
"Credit to Ohio — they're quick, and we still managed most of those breakaways," she said. "That was just really exciting to see."
In 2010, Davidson opened the season 4-0 and later also won five straight on the way to a 14-win season.
Up Next
The Wildcats will visit A-10 foe Lock Haven on Friday, Sept. 26.