Castleton, VT-Castleton sophomore, Michael Martinez scored with 41 seconds remaining in regulation to propel Castleton State College to a 12-11 win over Salem State in ECAC Division III New England men's lacrosse opening round action.

Castleton took a 2-0 lead with 12:14 remaining in the opening period as Michael DelDotto and Kirk Bolduc each scored. James Cross cut the lead in half with 2:38 remaining in the period off a Justin Jones assist.

The Spartans scored five out of the next six goals to take what appeared to be a commanding 7-2 lead with 9:15 remaining in the first half. Martinez struck for a pair of goals, and DelDotto, Derek Riley and Phil Barry each scored once during the run. Salem State once again had the answer as the Vikings scored the final three goals of the period to cut the lead to 7-5 heading into halftime.  Jones added a goal and an assist during the run, while Sal Silva and Tim Bartlett added goals.

The teams played even for the next 29-plus minutes, setting up Martinez's heroics. The sophomore received a pass on the left side, ducked one defender and received a perfect pick from Kirk Bolduc freeing him for the shot.

Jones, Cross and Jonathan Falls led the Vikings with two goals apiece. Salem State goalie, Keith Hardy stopped seven shots in the loss. The Vikings wrap up their season at 8-5.

Martinez led the Spartans with four goals, while DelDotto scored three. Chris Wynne was spectacular in the goal, leading Castleton to the win with 18 saves. Wynne stopped seven shots in the first period to set the tone as Castleton increases its program-best win total to 13 (13-6).

The win is the first-ever for a Castleton program in ECAC Championship competition.

Castleton advances to the semifinal round of the ECAC Championship hosted by top-seed Endicott College. The Spartans and Gulls face-off at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 10.