Castleton Men’s Lacrosse Loses at SUNY Potsdam

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton University

POTSDAM, N.Y. – After a close first period, Castleton University was unable to contain the offensive attack of SUNY Potsdam, as the Bears defeated the Spartans, 13-3, Tuesday night in a non-conference men's collegiate lacrosse match at Maxcy Turf Field.

SUNY Potsdam (3-5) struck first a little more than six minutes into the game, as Ryan Waldron set up Josh Huiatt for his first goal of the night. Castleton responded with 4:01 remaining in the first period on an unassisted goal by Colin Clark, tying the game at 1-1.

The Bears retook the lead right away when Marc Leveroni won the faceoff, raced into the offensive zone, and fed Eric Soderquist for a blast into the net. Both teams had opportunities in the final minutes of the opening period, but the score remained 2-1 in favor of SUNY Potsdam after the first period.

Off the opening faceoff of the second period, Leveroni collected the ground ball, raced into the zone, and sent a shot into the back of the net. That began a stretch of six straight goals for the Bears in the second period, featuring two more goals by Soderquist as well as consecutive tallies from Lukas Baildon, giving SUNY Potsdam an 8-1 advantage at halftime.

The Bears continued to pressure the Spartan defense, scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to extend their lead to 10-1. Jason Sedell brought the Spartans back within seven at 10-3 with consecutive goals 51 seconds apart, with Ryan Stone assisting on the second goal. SUNY Potsdam would score three goals in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter to complete the scoring for the night.

Soderquist led the Bears with four goals and one assist, while Baildon also notched a hat trick with three goals along with an assist. Huiatt and Nick Slate finished with two goals and two assists apiece as SUNY Potsdam outshot Castleton, 43-20, and collected more ground balls than the Spartans, 37-20.

Brandon Myron made five saves in the first 37 minutes of the game before being replaced by Maxx Ingison, who collected a season-high seven saves in 23 minutes of action. Zach Sheridan started as the goalie for SUNY Potsdam and earned five saves in 50 minutes before two other Bears combined to play the final 10 minutes of the game.

Castleton Women’s Lacrosse Loses to Plymouth State

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's lacrosse team lost to Plymouth State Wednesday afternoon, 14-4, in a non-conference match at Spartan Stadium.

Castleton struck first just 1:11 into the match, as Emily Cross set up Hannah Braman for her 17^th goal of the season. However, Plymouth State would quickly take control, as Megan Tingley scored consecutive goals to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 19:10 left in the first half.

Tingley continued to apply offensive pressure, assisting on a goal by Sam Fiore to extend the Panthers' advantage to 3-1 midway through the opening half. Castleton converted on an extra-player opportunity, as Braman scored her second goal of the game off an assist by Morgan Derosia to close the Spartan deficit to 3-2 with 10:58 remaining in the half.

Plymouth State (5-3) took control with four unanswered goals in the last seven minutes of the first half, including two more goals by Tingley as well as a tally by Sam Sullivan with eight seconds left on the clock. The Panthers continued to extend their lead with three straight goals in the first five minutes of the second half, including the second goal of the game for both Fiore and Sullivan.

Emma Best snapped the Panther scoring streak with a free position goal, followed by an unassisted goal by Erin Shuttle less than two minutes later to bring the Spartans within six at 10-4. Plymouth State would score the final four goals of the match, starting with Sullivan completing her hat trick.

Tingley led the Panthers with four goals and two assists, while Sullivan finished with three goals and one assist and Sophia Guerriero contributed two goals to the winning effort. Sullivan also collected seven ground balls and caused four turnovers, while Kimberly Zuccaro led the team with four draw controls.

Braman was the only Spartan to notch a multiple-point game with her two goals, Erin McKenna collected five ground balls, and Nadine Downing contributed four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and two draw controls. The Spartans struggled to create offense, converting on only 11-of-26 clearing attempts, while the Panthers were successful on 17-of-23 clearing chances.

Samantha Hebb made seven saves in net for the Spartans, while Clarissa Foote made five saves in the first 51 minutes of the game for the Panthers. Emilee Wargo came on in relief and was credited with one save.

Castleton (4-6) heads to Bangor, Maine, to face Husson University Saturday, April 7, at 1:30 p.m. The Spartans close out the regular season home schedule the following weekend against Thomas Saturday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m. (Senior Day) and against Lyndon Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m. (One Love Awareness Game).

Spartans' Early Deficit Too Much to Overcome at Clark

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Castleton baseball team fell behind early and was never able to recover, as Clark used a big fourth inning to fuel a 13-7 victory over the Spartans on Monday evening in non-conference action at Granger Field.

With the loss, Castleton falls below .500 to 6-7 overall. Clark improves to 11-7 on the season with the win.

Davis Mikell and Jonathan Lindau combined for four hits, four RBI, and four runs scored to lead the Spartans offensively. Castleton finished with eight hits in the loss.

For the third consecutive game, Castleton struck in the top of the first to take an early lead. After a pair of groundouts opened the frame, Lindau was hit by a pitch and Mikell extended the inning with a walk. With two on and two outs, Mitchell Caron smacked an RBI single up the middle to give the Spartans the upper hand, 1-0.

After Clark tied the game on an RBI single by Zach Kelley in the home half of the first, the Cougars opened a 3-1 lead on a two-run home run by Ryan Ruhlin in the bottom of the second. Mikell answered right back for the Spartans, smashing a two-run homer of his own in the top of the third to tie things back up at 3-3.

The level game was brief, however, as the Cougars exploded for seven runs on seven singles and two walks in the bottom of the fourth to blow the game open. After a groundout started the inning, four straight singles and two walks gave Clark a 6-3 lead. Kelley drove in two more with an RBI single, before back-to-back RBI base hits by Nick Jordan and Andrew Thibault extended the Clark advantage to 10-3.

Castleton loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but was only able to get two runs back. Alex Borsari scored one on a fielder's choice and Pat Mumford lofted an RBI single to right field to cut into the deficit. The Spartans were poised for more with runners at the corners and the top of the order coming to bat, but an inning-ending double play ended the threat with Clark still in command, 10-5.

Andy Kenosh fired three scoreless innings in relief, but Clark added three insurance runs on five hits in the bottom of the eighth. Lindau and Mikell notched back-to-back RBI doubles in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Cougars claimed the 13-7 victory.  

Cameron Goulet suffered the loss on the mound, allowing 10 runs on 12 hits with a strikeout and two walks over four innings. Kenosh was strong with three scoreless innings in relief, while Aaron Smith was tagged for three runs in one inning.

Kelley and Thibault each went 4-for-5 for Clark as the home team finished with 19 hits. Conor Walsh earned the win on the mound, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks

Castleton Women’s Lacrosse Cruises to Conference Win

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton

CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton University received contributions from several players as the Spartans defeated Maine Maritime Academy, 20-1, Saturday afternoon in a North Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse match at Spartan Stadium.

Emily Cross led the Spartans with four goals and four assists for eight total points, while Hannah Braman finished with two goals and five assists for seven points. Castleton received help from many people, as 12 players earned at least one point in the game, including the first career hat trick for Morgan Derosia, the first goals of the season for Erin McKenna, Nicolle Trivino, and Kirsten Kruk, and the first career collegiate goal for freshman Allison Lowell.

Erin Shuttle, who finished with two goals and two assists herself, started the scoring 44 seconds into the contest, and then she assisted on Braman's first goal of the game 47 seconds later. Braman returned the favor by assisting on Shuttle's second goal, and then McKenna assisted on Nadine Downing's tally before scoring herself just over four-and-a-half minutes into the contest.

The Spartans eventually scored nine goals within the first nine minutes of the game, and then their 10^th goal came midway through the first half, allowing the clock to continuing running. Castleton took a 15-0 lead into halftime and then scored three more goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Maine Maritime (2-3, 1-2 NAC), shorthanded due to a rash of injuries, would break the shutout midway through the second half, as Madison Barry raced down the field and found the back of the net with her only shot of the game. Christina Wilson did all she could in net for the Mariners, finishing with 11 saves as 31 of Castleton's 37 shots were on goal.

The Spartans collected 19 of the 23 draw controls, led by Downing with eight draw controls. Katie Feeney led the defense with seven caused turnovers as Maine Maritime took only three shots, with neither starting goalie Samantha Hebb nor Bria Willis, the Spartan goalie in the second half, credited with a save.

Castleton (4-5, 2-0 NAC) plays its final regular season non-conference game of the year Wednesday, April 4, against Plymouth State beginning at 4 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.

Spartan Offense Shines in 7-0 Victory

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton.

POULTNEY, Vt. – The Castleton women's soccer team picked up where it left off from its last game, scoring three times in the first half and four times in the second half en route to a 7-0 shutout of Green Mountain on Saturday in a North Atlantic Conference match.

The big win comes off the heels of a 13-0 drubbing of Lyndon on Tuesday, giving the Spartans a combined 20 goals in their last two contests. The win moves Castleton to 3-5-3 overall this season, and 2-1-1 in the NAC. Green Mountain remains winless, holding marks of 0-7-1 overall and 0-2-1 in conference play.

Bronwen Hopwood tallied a pair of first-half goals for the Spartans, while Eva Clark scored the game-winner early in the contest. Four different Spartans recorded second-half goals in the victory. For the second straight game, neither goalie was forced to make a save as Jessica Binkowski and Emma Parent split time in goal for the Spartans.

Green Mountain's Tyah Culp suffered her fifth loss of the season, despite making 14 saves in the contest.

Clark got the Spartans on the board in the early going, finding the back of the net in just the sixth minute of the game. In the 22nd minute, Hopwood took a pass from Nicole Wershoven and slotted it home for the 2-0 Spartan lead. Just six minutes later, the sophomore scored again—this time assisted by Madison Aponte—giving Castleton a 3-0 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Spartans continued the offensive onslaught, as Izzy Hutnak buried a tough-angle shot into the far side of the net to move the Spartans' lead to four goals in the 61st minute. In the 71st minute, Kiley Baran converted a penalty kick to move the lead to 5-0 before Rachel Keefer took a pass from Karly Meacham and beat Culp for a six-goal Spartan advantage. Aponte then converted a goal of her own in the 82nd minute to give the game its final score of 7-0 when she finished a pass from Kaitlin Cole.

Castleton outshot Green Mountain 38-0 in the contest, and 21-0 on goal. The Spartans also had a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks and only fouled three times in the game.

Castleton returns to action on Sunday (today) at noon, hosting the defending national champions and No.2-seeded Williams Ephs.

Castleton Field Hockey Falls to Nationally-Ranked Skidmore

CASTLETON, Vt. - The Castleton field hockey team suffered its fourth straight loss this afternoon to nationally-ranked Skidmore by a final score of 10-0.

The loss drops the Spartans to 2-5 overall, while Skidmore improves to 5-1 following the win.

The Thoroughbreds came out strong posting six goals by the midway point of the first half, including a pair each from Krista Lamoreaux and Gabby Hyman. Skidmore added three more goals over the final ten minutes of the first half to go into the break leading 9-0.

Castleton came out strong in the second half, tallying eight of the first ten shots. Despite stringing together six straight shots on goal over the course of a twenty-minute span in the second stanza, forcing Skidmore to use a timeout, the Spartans could not find the back of the cage. Mallory Perry of Skidmore scored on a feed from Becca Halter at the 28:34 mark of the second half to raise the score to 10-0, which would be the final.


Emily Lowell and Sarah Wells led the offense for Castleton with two shots on goal apiece, while Haley Spittle, Mia Sanborn, and Rachel Holland each added one.

Meeghan Doris started in the cage for the Spartans, facing 28 shots and tallying four saves over the game's first 35 minutes. Leah Holland was between the pipes for the second half and also tallied four saves while facing six shots.

Castleton will return to action with its first conference matchup of the season on Saturday. The Spartans will welcome UMaine-Farmington for a 1 p.m. contest at Spartan Stadium.

Pitching Powers Spartans to Sweep of Plymouth St.

Recap, photo courtesy of Castleton University

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Castleton softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep of Plymouth St. on Thursday afternoon at D&M Park.

Kayla Wood threw her second shutout of the season in game one, allowing just four hits over seven innings of work and striking out nine batters in a 6-0 win. Cassidy Tedeschi got the start in the circle in game two, working five innings and allowing just one unearned run while striking out three batters. Taylor Paquette closed it out, working two shutout innings to give Castleton a 5-1 win.

Brittany Brayman posted a 4-for-7 day with a two-run home run, while Katie Gagne had three hits on

Spartans Stymied by Rensselaer

CASTLETON, Vt.- The Castleton softball team dropped a pair of tough, non-conference games on Wednesday evening, falling in both ends of a doubleheader to Rensselaer at Spartan Field.

Despite leading late in the first contest, the Spartans lost 4-3 in extra innings. The second game went scoreless into the sixth inning, but RPI posted runs in both of the final two frames to take a 4-0 victory and complete the sweep. The Spartans are now 11-11 on the season, while the Engineers move to 22-6.

Chelsea Grady led the offense on the day, recording her fifth home run of the season while driving in

Spartans Shoot Past Maine Maritime 18-2

Photo is courtesy of Castleton University

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans scored just 20 seconds into regulation and didn't look back on the way to a dominant 18-2 victory over Maine Maritime on Saturday afternoon in Spartan Stadium.
Castleton outshot the Mariners 43-9 in the contest and picked up 31 ground balls while causing 17 turnovers to improve to 7-5 and 5-0 in the North Atlantic Conference. Maritime picked up seven ground balls and did win eight draw controls but fell to 0-12 and 5-0 in conference action.

Senior Brianna MacKay recorded her 50th goal of the season as she scored six times on seven shots

Spartan Offense Explodes for 41 Runs in Doubleheader Sweep of Lyndon

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – The Castleton softball team cruised to a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader sweep on Wednesday afternoon against Lyndon St., winning both games in convincing fashion five innings.

The Spartans, who move back to .500 at 8-8 with the wins, took game one 17-1 before winning game two, 24-1. Castleton is now 3-1 in conference play following the sweep, while Lyndon falls to 2-12 overall and 0-2 in NAC play.

The Spartan offense exploded for a combined 41 runs over the two-game set, powered by the top

Spartans Take Down Colby-Sawyer, Complete Season Sweep

Photo is courtesy of Castleton University

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans combined for 30 runs this afternoon, as they claimed the season sweep over Colby-Sawyer with back-to-back victories – 15-2, 15-3 – in a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Spartan Field.

Castleton outhit the opposition 26-11 and took advantage of the Chargers four errors to push the club's winning streak to eight. The Spartans now stand at 16-9 on the season and 10-2 in the conference, while Colby-Sawyer drops to 8-12 (5-7 NAC) overall.

Game One
The Spartans struck early and often in their first game of the day, tying a season-high with 15 runs

Spartans Post Doubleheader Sweep at Colby-Sawyer

Photo is courtesy of Castleton

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Castleton captured the first two games of a home-and-home, North Atlantic Conference series with Colby-Sawyer this afternoon, posting a come-from-behind 10-7 victory in game one before taking down the Chargers 9-0 in the finale at Kelsey Field.

The Spartans outhit the opposition 20-9 and captured the doubleheader sweep, despite making six errors this afternoon. Castleton has won six straight games and eight of its last nine, as the club improved to 14-9 overall and 8-2 in the conference with today's efforts. Colby-Sawyer, meanwhile, drops to 8-10 on the year and 5-5 in NAC play.

Game One
The Chargers jumped out to an early, 7-1 lead in game one, but the Spartans fought back and scored nine runs over the final four innings of play, including three in the top of the ninth, to secure a 10-7, comeback victory.

Conner Johnson had a rough outing in his third start of the season, giving up seven runs (five earned)

Spartans Drop Two Games at Middlebury

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Castleton softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games on Sunday afternoon at Middlebury College.

The Spartans led most of the way in game one, but Middlebury put up a run in each of the final three innings to walk off with a 3-2 win before cruising to a 6-0 victory in game two. Castleton falls to 6-8 overall with the losses, while Middlebury moves to 8-6 following the doubleheader sweep.

Katie Gagne got the start in the circle for the Spartans in the first game of the day, going 4.2 innings

Spartans Split Doubleheader at Husson

BANGOR, Maine – Castleton softball bounced back from an extra-innings loss in game one with a game-two victory to earn a doubleheader split against Husson today in its first North Atlantic Conference games of the season.

The Spartans, who are now 6-6 overall (1-1 NAC), dropped game one in eight innings by a final score of 3-2 before knocking off the seven-time defending champions by a score of 5-2 in the second game of the day. Husson is now 3-15 overall and 1-1 in NAC play.

Kayla Wood propelled Castleton to victory in the second game, striking out 12 batters in a

Spartans Surge Past Husson 12-7

BANGOR, Maine – Castleton trailed Husson 5-3 at the half, but outscored the Eagles 9-2 in the final 30 minutes to pull away for a 12-7 victory on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans improved to 7-4 with the win and 4-0 in the North Atlantic Conference as they outshot Husson 57-25 and won 21 of 23 faceoffs. The Eagles picked up 31 ground balls but dropped to 4-6 and 3-1 in conference play.

Five different players scored a pair of goals, including a trio of freshmen. Freshmen Kyle Lutinski posted two goals, one assist and five ground balls while Tom Pardew scored twice and dished off an assist. Sophomore Joshua Gosselin picked up eight ground balls and won 19 of 21 faceoffs.

Husson's Matt Martin recorded an impressive 23 saves to keep the Spartan offense at bay, including 16 in the second half, but took the loss. Trent Sell led the offense with two goals, one assist and two caused turnovers while Brett Martin had one goal and two assists.

Taylor Swarter scored twice in the first quarter to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes. However, Jack White, Sell and Brandon Corbo scored three straight goals to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead. Sam Siegel trimmed the deficit to one with 5:36 left in the period, but Husson added another goal with just seven seconds left in the half for a 5-3 advantage at the half.

Jason Sedell cut the gap to one goal 1:36 into the third, and Pardew tied the contest 5-5 at 9:25. Just 16 seconds later, Zach Devoid gave Castleton the lead for good, 6-5. Sedell added another goal with 15 seconds remaining in the third to take a two-goal lead.

The Eagles made it a one-goal game 1:05 into the fourth, and then trailed just 8-1 with 10 minutes remaining. Back-to-back goals by Nik Rancourt and Pardew 22 just seconds apart pushed the Spartan lead to 10-7 with 8:14 left. Two more Castleton goals in the final eight minutes provided the five-goal final margin.

Peter Latulippe earned the start in net and allowed three goals with one save before being lifted after 19:25. Romello Lindsey came in and gave up four goals while stopping five shots over the final 40:35.

Castleton returns to action on Wednesday when the team hosts Norwich on Wednesday at 7 pm.

Spartans Shut Out Lyndon 16-0

CASTLETON, Vt. – Freshmen Romello Lindsey and Brandon Myron combined to produce a shutout in net and the Castleton offense was effective on the way to a 16-0 victory over Lyndon on Wednesday afternoon.

The duo made eight saves, preserving the team's first shutout of the year. Lindsey stopped two shots in the first half to earn his first collegiate victory while Myron came up with six saves in the final 30 minutes of action.

Castleton had 45 shots on the afternoon and picked up 56 ground balls to improve to 6-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Lyndon recorded 19 shots and picked up 19 ground balls as it dropped to 0-6 and 0-3 in conference action.

The Spartans had 12 different players score in the contest, led by Sam Siegel with three goals and

Spartans Surge Past Colby-Sawyer 15-6

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans built up a 9-1 halftime lead behind another impressive performance from Brianna MacKay on the way to a 15-6 victory over Colby-Sawyer in North Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday evening at Spartan Stadium.

MacKay scored on each of her first six shots and ended the game with seven goals on just nine shots. The final tally was the 100th of her career, becoming just the 11th player in program history to reach that milestone. She also picked up four ground balls in the contest.

Castleton held a 27-16 shot advantage in the contest and caused 17 turnovers while picking up 27 ground balls to improve to 5-4 overall and 3-0 in the NAC. The Chargers managed just 16 shots and picked up 17 ground balls as they fell to 4-5 and 3-1 in conference play.

Senior Brandi Whittemore did a bit of everything for the Spartans with two goals, two assists, two

Spartans Fall to Skidmore 18-6

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans trailed just 1-0 after five minutes of action, but the Skidmore offense scored four more times in the first quarter to pull away for the eventual 18-6 victory on Tuesday evening at Spartan Stadium.

Castleton was outshot 51-20 and picked up just 29 groundballs as the team dropped to 5-4 overall. The Thoroughbreds, meanwhile, picked up 38 ground balls, forced 24 turnovers and won 16 of 26 faceoffs to improve to 5-5 overall.

Senior Taylor Swarter paced the offense with a hat trick, and Tom Pardew added one goal, one assist

Spartans Capture Third Straight, Beat SUNY Canton 14-6

CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton led just 5-4 at the break, but outscored the opposition 9-2 in the final two periods of play to capture the squad's third straight win with a 14-6 victory over the SUNY Canton Kangaroos in non-conference action at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans turned in an impressive display, holding the edge in shots (41-24) and groundballs (45-26) to move over .500 at 4-3 overall for the first time this season. The Kangaroos, meanwhile, drop to 3-4 on the year after having their three-game unbeaten run snapped.

Kyle Lutinski paced the attack with four points from two goals and two assists to go along with two

Castleton Auger and Wells Named Scholars of Distinction

CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton field hockey players Cassidy Auger and Sarah Wells were named 2015 ZAG Field Hockey/NFHCA Division III Scholars of Distinction this morning, as announced by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

This is the second time in as many years that Auger has received the award, while Wells received the honor for the first time. Both players were also named to yesterday's National Academic Squad.

To be named a ZAG Field Hockey/NFHCA Scholar of Distinction, a student-athlete must have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher through the first semester of the 2015-16 academic year. To view the complete list of honorees, click here.