CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans gave up a goal in the final ten minutes and couldn't net the equalizer, falling to visiting Colby-Sawyer 2-1 on Tuesday evening at Spartan Stadium.

In a battle between the top two teams in the North Atlantic Conference, it was Colby-Sawyer who prevailed, despite being outshot 19-8. The loss is the first for Castleton in conference play since the 2009 NAC Championship game against Husson, a span of 29 games.

The Spartans actually got on the board first, scoring just 57 seconds into the contest on their first corner kick. Halie Roberge (Southington, Conn.) lofted the corner from the near side of the field to the middle of the six, where Mallory Costello (Vernon, N.J.) headed it into the back of the net.

Colby-Sawyer responded in the 12th minute. Sarah Lavalle (Newton, Mass.) fired a cross from the far side of the 18, past a diving Kaleigh Newton (Morrisville, Vt.) to a waiting Colleen Coburn (Middletown, Conn.) and she headed the ball into the open net.

Castleton continued to pepper the net throughout the remainder of the half, finishing with a 11-2 shot advantage.

Neither team was able to break through again until the 80th minute.

The Chargers earned back-to-back free kicks just outside the near corner of the box. On the second attempt, Stephanie Huntley (Woodbury, Conn.) ripped a shot into the upper far corner of the net, just past the outstretched hands of Newton.

The Spartans pressured Colby-Sawyer in the final ten minutes, but couldn't break through.

Newton made two saves and a number of other big plays in the box and was saddled with the loss. Shay Spencer (Natick, Mass.) earned the win in net, stopping eight Castleton shots.

The Spartans drops to 14-4-1 with the loss while the Chargers improve to 12-2-4 overall and 9-0 in the NAC.

Castleton and Colby-Sawyer both return to action on this weekend when they each host a NAC quarterfinal contest.