Davidson Women’s Lacrosse won its first ever Atlantic 10 Championship in a stunning 10-5 upset over Virginia Commonwealth University on Sunday at Davidson College Stadium, securing the team’s first NCAA Tournament berth in the program’s 23-year history. The victory was Davidson’s first A-10 title in any women’s sport.

Fourth-seeded Davidson, playing host, defeated fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s University 13-6 in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday. Jenna Skibbe ’27 scored four times to lead the ’Cats into the semi-final.

Facing the top-seeded and nationally ranked University of Richmond in the Friday semi-final, Davidson entered as a heavy underdog. In their regular season meeting, the Spiders dominated the ‘Cats 16-7.

Unlike their first meeting with Richmond, there was growing faith that Davidson squad could pull off a victory. The ’Cats took a 5-3 lead into halftime. However, Richmond kept it within at least two goals for the whole second half, bringing the game to a 10-10 tie with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter.

With just five seconds left on the game clock, Aeryn Curren ’28 fed Brooke Ross ’27 a pass in scoring range.

“I was just wide open and I made eye contact with Aeryn and she fed it to me,” said Ross in a post-game interview with A-10 media.

Ross netted the goal, sending the bench and all of Davidson College Stadium into a frenzy.

“We did so great all game. […] Our defense stopped them. They played so well,” Ross said.

Davidson’s win sent the ’Cats to their first ever A-10 Championship final, setting up a winner-take-all meeting with second-seeded VCU. The Rams defeated the ’Cats 7-5 earlier in the season and ended Davidson’s title hopes a year ago in the A-10 quarterfinals.

In front of a packed home crowd filled with students, community members and lacrosse alumni on Sunday, Davidson took the field against VCU eager for a conference title.

“Especially losing to VCU in the quarterfinals last year, we definitely had this revenge tour coming on,” said Shayna Brodman ’26. “We were so focused in the regular season on VCU […], but in the tournament, we were really focused on us. Instead of […] being nervous, we were hungry.”

VCU threw the first punch, leading 5-2 going into halftime. A disallowed goal in the final seconds of the second quarter from Devyn Martinez ’27 motivated the team for a second-half comeback.

When the team needed a spark, the leaders stepped forward in the locker room.

“It’s Kayla [Joyce ’27] standing up and saying ‘no more goals’. It’s our other captain, MC [Hendrick ’26], saying ‘we know how to play, let’s come back,’” said Allie Harnett ’26 about the mid-game regroup in a post-game interview with Davidson media. “Nobody doubted us for a second because we know this is our field and we were taking this home.”

When the teams returned to the field, it was all Davidson. Goalie Kayla Joyce delivered on her halftime promise, holding VCU scoreless in the second half with eight total saves.

Ross, Adrienne Leone ’26 and Curren all connected on goals in the final eight minutes of the third quarter. Davidson and VCU were tied at 5-5 entering the final 15 minutes of play.

Curren scored just sixteen seconds into the fourth quarter to give the ’Cats their first lead of the game. Ross grew the lead to two with another goal a minute later. Davidson never looked back. 

In the last minutes of the game, the ’Cats and their fans could sense it. Davidson played a game of keep away, starting with draw specialist Alanna Dumalac ’26, letting the clock run down. Even with this protective style of play, the offense scored two additional goals. The nail in the coffin came from Leone on VCU’s empty net with 34 seconds remaining.

The final score of 10-5 gave Davidson the A-10 Championship for the first time in program history.

Davidson’s bench rushed the field, throwing their sticks into the air. Head Coach Kim Wayne received a Gatorade shower with her team celebrating. In her eighteenth season heading the ’Cats, Wayne finally won her first conference championship.

“This group deserved the title, and I am so glad it’s ours,” Wayne wrote in an email to The 

Davidsonian. “I am so proud of these 35 young women and the effort they put into every run test, every lift session, film session and practice we had from September to May.”

Davidson began their season with losses in two of their first three conference games to St. Bonaventure and VCU. After eight seniors graduated in May 2025, Davidson had a lot to build on. The team played exceptionally in the back half of the 2026 season with only one additional conference defeat following the loss to VCU in mid-March.

“Honestly, it feels like a complete 360 with our team,” Joyce said. “We’re a completely different team than the last time we played VCU. We stayed composed and confident. […] I didn’t have the best games in the regular season, but those are not the games that matter. These are the games that matter, and we all showed up today.”

While an A-10 championship is always the goal, hosting the tournament made a title feel within reach.

“[Hosting the tournament] was always the biggest motivator. We saw that [A-10 tournament] banner since the beginning of the season up on the stands, and we knew we wanted it,” said Mary Claire Hendrick ’26, a captain this season.

“From day one, this team had a goal and no matter how good or bad we played in all of our regular season games, our goal never changed,” Wayne echoed.

The title extends far beyond the 2026 team. It builds on Wayne’s tenure as a coach who has had continuous success with the program and the players who have come through it.

“Winning the A10 championship is about so much more than a ring or a title. Seeing my team compete the way they did on Thursday, Friday and then again on Sunday was inspiring,” Wayne said.

Davidson’s season does not end here. The ’Cats will face the Clemson University Tigers in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, May 8 at 5pm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Dorrance Field.

The 2026 team gained the program’s first entrance to the NCAA tournament where they will face the Clemson University Tigers. Davidson lost to the Tigers 21-5 in their regular season meeting in late-March. While the odds may seem unsurpassable, the ‘Cats are coming off of two unexpected victories. 

Davidson plays in the first-round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, May 8 at 5 PM at the two-seeded University of North Carolina’s Dorrance Field.