Four Wildcats Earn A-10 Field Hockey Honors
11/8/2024 11:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
WASHINGTON — After climbing to fifth in the Atlantic 10 standings this fall, the Davidson field hockey team has secured four postseason honors, the league announced Friday morning.
That includes A-10 Second Team honors for Sib Naaktgeboren and Matilda Collins, an A-10 All-Academic selection for Abby Pompeo and All-Rookie Team recognition for Eva van der Kooi.
It's the most A-10 honorees for the Wildcats since the 2020 (spring 2021) season, when they also had four.
Naaktgeboren's Second Team honor is her second straight and comes after she led the Wildcats with five goals and 14 points. A junior from Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, she ranked second in the A-10 with 2.0 shots-on-goal per game and third with 3.40 shots per game.
"For the second year in a row, Sib's craftiness and speed with the ball make her a constant threat all over the field," said Wildcats coach Zoe Almquist. "Since she's regularly the fastest athlete out there — this allows her to create equally from the midfield or up front. Her ability to apply pressure on our opponents and then generate counter-attack opportunities from those turnovers is what makes her one of the most dynamic players in our conference."
A sophomore from Willingdon, England, Collins also secured her second consecutive league honor after being named to the All-Rookie Team last season. She totaled three goals and two assists to rank third on the team with eight points, while being relied upon as a defender.
"Tilda is the backbone of our defense," said Almquist. "Her consistency, leadership and tenacity have been essential to our team's success. She's the kind of player who thrives in pressure situations and sets the tone for the entire squad. Her ability to read the game defensively and then find spaces to jumpstart our attack make her invaluable to this team."
Pompeo, a senior economics major from Apex, earned her second straight All-Academic honor. She was second on the team with four goals and third with eight points.
"For the second year in a row, Abby has proved that she embodies what it means to be a scholar-athlete here at Davidson," said Almquist. "She is smart, organized and hardworking — she excels in the classroom while majoring in economics, excels on the field as our go-to goal-scorer and first runner on defensive corners and has excelled as a captain and leader for this team everywhere in between. She has balanced the rigors of Davidson's academic environment with the demands of Davidson's athletic competition with poise and has unquestionably left this team better than she found it."
A freshman from Groningen, Netherlands, van der Kooi appeared in all 15 games, primarily as a key reserve. She scored two goals and assisted on another.
"Eva's vision on the field is exceptional," said Almquist. "She has a natural instinct for finding space and knowing exactly where to be. Her ability to anticipate the flow of the game and make smart, finishing plays has been really impressive. As a freshman, she's already shown that she has the maturity and skill to compete at a high level."
That includes A-10 Second Team honors for Sib Naaktgeboren and Matilda Collins, an A-10 All-Academic selection for Abby Pompeo and All-Rookie Team recognition for Eva van der Kooi.
It's the most A-10 honorees for the Wildcats since the 2020 (spring 2021) season, when they also had four.
Naaktgeboren's Second Team honor is her second straight and comes after she led the Wildcats with five goals and 14 points. A junior from Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, she ranked second in the A-10 with 2.0 shots-on-goal per game and third with 3.40 shots per game.
"For the second year in a row, Sib's craftiness and speed with the ball make her a constant threat all over the field," said Wildcats coach Zoe Almquist. "Since she's regularly the fastest athlete out there — this allows her to create equally from the midfield or up front. Her ability to apply pressure on our opponents and then generate counter-attack opportunities from those turnovers is what makes her one of the most dynamic players in our conference."
A sophomore from Willingdon, England, Collins also secured her second consecutive league honor after being named to the All-Rookie Team last season. She totaled three goals and two assists to rank third on the team with eight points, while being relied upon as a defender.
"Tilda is the backbone of our defense," said Almquist. "Her consistency, leadership and tenacity have been essential to our team's success. She's the kind of player who thrives in pressure situations and sets the tone for the entire squad. Her ability to read the game defensively and then find spaces to jumpstart our attack make her invaluable to this team."
Pompeo, a senior economics major from Apex, earned her second straight All-Academic honor. She was second on the team with four goals and third with eight points.
"For the second year in a row, Abby has proved that she embodies what it means to be a scholar-athlete here at Davidson," said Almquist. "She is smart, organized and hardworking — she excels in the classroom while majoring in economics, excels on the field as our go-to goal-scorer and first runner on defensive corners and has excelled as a captain and leader for this team everywhere in between. She has balanced the rigors of Davidson's academic environment with the demands of Davidson's athletic competition with poise and has unquestionably left this team better than she found it."
A freshman from Groningen, Netherlands, van der Kooi appeared in all 15 games, primarily as a key reserve. She scored two goals and assisted on another.
"Eva's vision on the field is exceptional," said Almquist. "She has a natural instinct for finding space and knowing exactly where to be. Her ability to anticipate the flow of the game and make smart, finishing plays has been really impressive. As a freshman, she's already shown that she has the maturity and skill to compete at a high level."
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