Castleton, VT - Stephanie Pearce scored six goals and had one assist as the third seeded Castleton advanced to the semifinal round of the 2009 ECAC Division III New England Championship with a 15-13 win over seventh seeded Curry.

Pearce led a second half comeback, scoring five goals, including two with a player-advantage and one while playing down during a 6-1 Spartan run that gave Castleton the lead for good.

Castleton jumped out to 5-0 lead over the first 9:55 of the contest as Pearce scored twice and added an assist, and freshman, Angelica Mazzola scored once and added an assist to lead the way.

After a Curry timeout, the Colonels went on a commanding 9-1 run over the next 27 minutes of action to take a 9-6 lead with 23:10 remaining in the game. Ashley Hansbury scored five of her team-high seven goals during the surge to lead the way.

Marie VanDerKar scored to cut the lead to 9-7, and Pearce followed with player-advantage goal to make it 9-8. Hansbury sent home a free position shot as Curry regained the two-goal cushion, but Castleton answered with three quick goals playing down a player to grab the 11-10 lead. Pearce made it four-straight goals with 15:21 remaining, giving Castleton a two-goal lead.

Castleton received two goals from VanDerKar, Haggerty, Nicole Adams and Stepanie Paproski as the Spartans improve to a program-best 14-3. Francesca Mazzola stopped 18 shots, playing a pivotal role in the win as the Colonels held a 40-30 advantage in shots. Castleton, which led the nation in draw controls on the year, averaging 21 per game, held a 22-6 advantage on the draw.

Hansbury's seven goals gives her 106 on the season, tying her for third all-time in NCAA history for goals in a season. Rachel Robichaud added three goals as Curry's season ends at 11-9 overall.

Castleton will take on Emerson College Saturday evening at 6:00 pm. The second-seeded Lions advanced to the semifinal round by way of a 15-11 win over Worcester State.