Wildcats Took Steps Forward in 2023

Any way you slice it, it's as easy as pie to see. The Davidson field hockey team took some significant steps forward in 2023.

The Wildcats closed the season Sunday with a nail-biting 3-2 win over Ohio at Belk Turf Field. It completed not only a weekend sweep — Davidson beat Saint Louis 3-1 Friday — but also nudged the Wildcats to seven wins for the first time since the 2015 team won eight.

Progress doesn't always show in the win-loss count and especially not in the Atlantic 10, where two of the eight teams (Saint Joseph's, UMass) are regularly in the national poll. But this year, the Wildcats have tangible evidence that they're getting better.

And riding a 2-0 weekend into the offseason? That doesn't hurt, either.

"We're really proud about the season," says coach Zoe Almquist, who completed her fifth season leading the Wildcats. "It makes me so happy to be able to end on a high note, and we're so excited for the future of Davidson field hockey."

In 18 games this year, the Wildcats played to 11 one-goal results. Four of those contests went into overtime, including narrow losses to A-10 foes Richmond and VCU, and the Wildcats pushed No. 17 UMass throughout a 2-1 loss in regulation. The Wildcats won just three of those tight games, but they were in all of them, creating more chances to win in 2023 and showing the potential for the future.

"Even when I think about our losses … we're right there," says Almquist. "All of these things are trending in a really good direction for us."

Here are a few of the strides the Wildcats took this season:
• The Wildcats scored 39 goals, the most since scoring 44 in 2016. It's an improvement of 13 goals from a year ago and the fourth-most in the A-10.
• Davidson allowed 43 goals, the fewest in a full season since 2018, when the Wildcats allowed 40. (Wildcat opponents scored 26 in the 11-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season)
• Junior Abby Pompeo scored a team-best eight goals. She's the first Wildcat to score eight since Katherine English and Anne Federico had eight apiece in 2016.
• Sophomore Sib Naaktgeboren led the team with 19 points, including seven goals and five assists. She ranked second in the A-10 in shots (56), shots-on-goal (35) and shots per game (3.29) and third in shots-on-goal per game (2.06).
• Junior Macy Curtis and sophomore Hannah Merritt finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, giving the Wildcats four players with double-digit points for the first time since 2016 (5).

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Macy Curtis

Hannah Merritt

Sib Naaktgeboren

Abby Pompeo

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