Even down to the final match of the regular season, Nansemond River entered its field hockey contest at city rival King’s Fork with the possibility of finishing from third to sixth in the final Southeastern District standings.

The Lady Warriors rolled to a 6-1 win at the expense of the Lady Bulldog Senior Day to claim the No. 3 seed going into next week’s district tournament.

Desiree Patterson led the Warrior attack with a hat trick, with two of her three goals coming as the Lady Warriors built a big lead in the second half.

Shelbi Holloman scored the first two Nansemond River goals, keeping the Lady Warriors in front despite King’s Fork challenging early on.

Holloman scored only 2:43 into the match. KF’s Megan McNamara, one of six Lady Bulldog seniors playing their final matches, tied the score with 19:18 to go in the first half.

Nicolette Santora, Jess Bumps, Kristi Hashigami, Li Spiker and Jamie Cupp are the rest of KF’s senior class.

Holloman put NR ahead 2-1 just 2:18 later. Patterson’s first goal made it 3-1 at halftime.

Audrey Dailey scored to go along with Patterson’s two goals after halftime. Markelle Patterson had two assists.

The Lady Warriors needed the victory heading into the district tourney, not only for seeding but also for confidence after falling 2-1 at Indian River Thursday afternoon.

“We’re coming together as a team again. We started to fall apart some during the last couple games,” said Nansemond River head coach Ali Mowry.

“I talked with the girls before we got on the bus (before the King’s Fork game) and we talked about what needed to be done. Our captains have to step up as leaders,” Mowry said.

Nansemond River is likely two wins from a regional tournament berth. Lakeland, the district’s season champs, has one regional spot. The second will go to the squad advancing deepest in the district tournament other than Lakeland.

If that wasn’t enough motivation, the Lady Warriors (10-5, 6-3) are paired against Indian River in the first round, set for Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Nansemond River.

The winner between the Rivers gets No. 2 Grassfield on Wednesday. Grassfield beat Nansemond River 4-1 in NR’s second match of the season.

“We want a second shot at Indian River and Grassfield. Our girls have that in mind already,” Mowry said.