Historic A10 Championship Punctuates Years of Belief at Davidson

The realization had yet to strike Allie Hartnett in the closing moments of Davidson’s 10-5 win over VCU in Sunday’s A-10 championship game at Davidson Stadium.

Once lightly recruited out of Massillon, Ohio, Hartnett blossomed into a four-time first-team all-conference midfielder and two-time captain. This past weekend, Hartnett helped guide the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA tournament bid. Davidson also secured the first A-10 women’s title in school history.

“I still feel like I’m in shock,” Hartnett said. “I couldn’t even cry after the game. I was just smiling. I thought I would have tears, but I was just so happy. When that final buzzer went off, the only thing I was thinking about was to dog pile with my teammates. It was really the best day of my life.”

Just to reach the championship stage, the Wildcats overcame a gauntlet. As the No. 4 seed in the A-10 tournament, Davidson played three games in four days. This included a Friday semifinal against tournament favorite Richmond as the second game of a back-to-back.

For coach Kim Wayne, it marked an all-too-familiar test. But she urged her players to channel their focus one game at a time.

“Having to play two games back-to-back is so hard, and we’ve done that every year that we’ve made the A-10 tournament,” Wayne said. “Every year, in that second game, we were just defeated, we’re dead, we’re tired. We knew if we didn’t get one of the top two seeds, we had to be in shape, we had to be fit and we had to be ready to compete.”

As the Wildcats embarked on a historic pursuit, their status as tournament hosts provided an extra incentive. The rush of competing in front of a home crowd proved more than enough fuel to overcome any fatigue factor.

Hartnett likened the atmosphere to the “Davidson difference” that enamored her as a visiting recruit.

“It was like putting gasoline on fire — it was crazy,” Hartnett said. “We were in our red-on-red jerseys. It was a sea of red in the stands. We had community members there, and all of our athletic staff and other sports teams there celebrating us.”

Davidson began its tournament run with a 13-6 win over fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s on Thursday. The win set up a rematch with the top-seeded Spiders, who had defeated the Wildcats 16-7 on April 18.

In her team’s condensed preparation, Wayne pointed toward the second half of that game, when Davidson outscored Richmond 7-5. She knew her team could emulate that stretch for a complete game, and the belief carried throughout the locker room.

“Our mentality going in was we weren’t going to lose on our home turf,” said Brooke Ross, who earned A-10 tournament MVP honors. “St. Joe’s was great preparation for Richmond in getting our defense and attack ready. We just hit flow state on attack, and we were ready for Richmond. Then, we had the mentality of we’re going to do it for our fans, our alumni.”

After earning an all-freshman team nod two years ago, injuries limited Ross’ sophomore campaign in 2025. But back to full health, the attacker has launched a major resurgence this season.

She buried nine goals in the conference tournament, including the winner with just five seconds remaining in the Wildcats’ 11-10 win over Richmond. Ross credited the team’s veteran leadership with instilling confidence across the group.

“Allie Hartnett, in that Richmond game, was just insane on another level,” Ross said. “She was just firing everyone up. We just had so much belief that our team was going to do it.”

Two days after stunning the Spiders, Davidson faced a 5-2 halftime deficit against VCU on Sunday. But the Wildcats found another gear and outscored the Rams 8-0 in the final 30 minutes.

Wayne, who has punched her first NCAA tournament ticket in 18 seasons at Davidson, said years of prior classes laid the foundation for the weekend’s championship moment.

Still, she and her staff felt 2026 could be the year as the Wildcats progressed through fall ball. That inkling has since transformed into an emotional whirlwind.

“Once we were up by a few goals and the clock was winding down, I tried really hard to soak it all up,” Wayne said. “I pulled some people aside, gave a few hugs and tried my best to turn around and look at the stands to see our alumni and families to have that visual memory to carry with me forever.”

Davidson drew a first-round clash with Clemson on Friday night in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tigers prevailed 21-5 when the programs last faced off March 31.

Hartnett, whose two-way presence forged an unlikely extension to a decorated Davidson career, said she and her teammates are focused on relishing the experience and playing a fun brand of lacrosse.

“It’s genuinely the most special thing, like I can’t even describe the feeling,” Hartnett said. “Getting to leave our home field with a win is the most special feeling, especially for our senior class to go out with such a monumental win.

“We joke all the time that this was going to be our miracle team. ESPN said we were a Cinderella story. But it’s always been us from the start.”