@harrybol “will D3 school let a recruited athlete apply ED2?”
Yes, that does happen. We were told this by coaches and even saw this on visits to schools. We were taking a tour with a coach in March of Jr. Yr., there was a Sr. athlete (same sport) at the school again that was still deciding between this NESCAC and Ivy having gotten into both. The NESCAC coach was still actively recruiting them. This is probably unusual but they were somehow going to find a spot on the team for them.
I had a D/S that was a recruited athlete and applied to a fairly selective D3 school (not NESCAC, next tier down) that was recruiting him and the coaches kept in contact recruiting even after RD acceptance.
Certainly the school and the sport (team size) will have some impact on this.
From your post I am not sure of the sport or the particular school and how selective it is.
This is just my opinion, I did not like being pressured to apply ED based on sports, unless it is a very Top academic or top sports school and/or you are 100% positive this is your #1 choice even if another school came into play.
We wanted to take our time as family selecting the schools and have a few options. Cost was part of the equation for us so that may not be a factor for some. I told my D/Ss they could tell the coach their parents are making them take their time.
Based on what you said in your post, (i.e. your daughter seems to prefer school #1, she could probably get into school # 2 without coaches support, you have not seen or have concerns about the distance of school #2…), I would hold off on school #2 and pursue school #1 or still consider others.