CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton got the only goal it would need early in the second half and the defense did the rest, shutting down the Johnston St. offense and coming away with the 1-0 victory on senior day at Spartan Stadium.

The first half was a scoreless affair as Badger goalie Amber McCullock (Morriville, Vt.) stoned the Spartans on multiple occasions, including a diving stop on a shot by Kelsey Garceau (St. Albans, Vt.) with 37 seconds remaining in the half. She finished the first 45 minutes with nine saves while her counterpart, Ericka Davis (Cambridge, Vt.) forced to make a pair of stops in net.

It was a different story in the second half as senior Hilary Cooke (Marlborough, Conn.) scored just 1:31 into the period to give Castleton the 1-0 lead. She received a pass from classmate Courtney Chadburn (No. Clarendon, Vt.) from just outside the 18 and took two dribbles before firing a shot which deflected off a Badger defender into the back of the net.

The Spartans continued to put on pressure for the rest of the half, outshooting the the Badgers 15-4 in the period, but were continually denied by McCullock and the Johnson St. defense. The sophomore goaltender added nine more saves in the second half to finish with 18 on the afternoon.

The Badger's best chance to tie the game came in the in the 81st minute when Ally Bataille (Waterbury, Vt.) tried to corral a through ball just outside the six, but collided with Kelly Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.) and was unable to get off a clean shot as the ball went flying wide out of bounds.

Davis made three saves for Castleton to earn the shutout and help the Spartans improve to 13-4 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the North Athletic Conference.

Before the contest seniors Maria Arnot, Brynn Campbell, Courtney Chadburn, Hilary Cooke, MacKenzie Gage, Kelly Gerken and Kelly Tetreault were honored as part of senior day festivities. Over the past four seasons they have compiled a 51-22-3 record, including a 27-1-1 record in the NAC.

The Spartans return to action next Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 3:30 p.m. when they play Colby-Sawyer.