Davidson Hit Lock Haven for Seven and Punch Their Atlantic 10 Tournament Ticket
Davidson knew exactly what they needed on Friday night. Beat Lock Haven by four goals or more, and the Atlantic 10 Tournament was theirs. They won 7-1. No arguments, no tiebreaker drama.
Emily Najarian got them started in the first quarter. Ise Adams scored the next two for a 3-0 half-time lead, and after Lock Haven pulled one back, Davidson just ran away with it. Eva van der Kooi and Lourdes Wolf scored twice each, with three goals coming in a four-minute, four-second burst that turned a contest into a rout.
Melanie Beall scored Lock Haven’s goal from a penalty corner in the 45th minute, her 12th of the season, but it was only ever a consolation. Davidson outshot a tiring Lock Haven side and never let the margin slip below the four goals they needed.
What it means
This is Davidson’s third Atlantic 10 Tournament trip overall, and the first time they’ve made it in consecutive years since joining the league in 2014. It’s also their 10th win of the season, which means double-digit wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2010 and 2011. That’s real progress, not a one-off.
The four-team tournament is next week at VCU. Davidson go in as the No. 4 seed and face top-seeded Saint Joseph’s at 11am on Thursday, 5 November. Davidson finished 10-9 overall and 2-4 in the league, tied with La Salle and Saint Louis for that final spot, but the goal difference from Friday night settled it.
For our money, Davidson are playing with house money now. Nobody picks a No. 4 seed in a four-team field, but a team that scores seven when it has to score four is a dangerous team to meet in a one-off game.
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