CASTLETON, Vt. – Defending conference champion Castleton advanced to its third straight North Atlantic Conference championship game with hard-fought 4-0 victory over New England College on Tuesday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

The game was a chippy affair as both teams played hard throughout and didn't give up position easily. Senior Courtney Chadburn (No. Clarendon, Vt.) facilitated the Spartan offense with two assists and a goal as four different players scored for Castleton. Senior Ericka Davis (Cambridge, Vt.) was invaluable in net, making eight saves including a pair of the diving variety.

In the eighth minute in the Spartans nearly saw a repeat of their quarterfinal game, as Kristen Walker (Franklin, Mass.) snuck behind the defense and crossed the ball into the box for Taylor Smith. Smith tried to one-time the ball into the lower right corner, but Davis made the diving stop to prevent the early goal.

Castleton responded to the scoring threat setting up its first corner at the 12:27 mark. Chadburn took the kick and lofted the ball to the center of the six for Sarah Either (Portsmouth, R.I.) who rose above the defense and headed the ball in for the 1-0 lead.

The Spartans added to their lead in the 39th minute, when a ball in the box bounced over the defense to senior Brynn Campbell (No. Clarendon, Vt.). She collected it and put it past the keeper for her third goal of the season and a 2-0 advantage.

In the second half, the Pilgrims had another good chance to score in the 61st minute, as Kaylee Thrasher received the ball inside the 18, beat one defender and just had one to beat for a clean shot on net. The freshman tried to make a move by Kelly Tetreault (Tolland, Conn.) but the senior stood her ground and took the ball away.

Four minutes later Chadburn made a run down the left sideline and with the defender closing in, crossed the ball to the six. Senior Kelly Gerken (Scottsville, N.Y.) was waiting for the ball and the keeper didn't have a chance as she headed it into the corner of the net.

The Spartans pushed their lead to 4-0 at the 74:51 mark. Senior Hilary Cooke (Marlborough, Conn.) chipped a shot over goalie Tricia Sardagnola (Shrewsbury, Mass.) that appeared to be going wide before a sliding kick at the far post by Chadburn knocked it in.

Sardagnola finished with seven saves in net for the Pilgrims as they end their season with a 10-8-2 record overall.

The Spartans, meanwhile, improve to 16-4, trying the program record for victories in a season. The No. 1 seed now looks to defend its conference crown when it battles with Husson on Saturday at Spartan Stadium at a time to be determined. Third-seeded Husson advanced to the NAC Championship by beating No. 2 seed Colby-Sawyer 1-0.