CASTLETON, Vt. – Angelica Mazzola (Centerport, N.Y.) did a little bit of everything and Kate Auer (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) scored a game-high five goals as Castleton State College downed New England College 19-10 in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) East Division Women's Lacrosse Championship Sunday evening at Spartan Stadium.
 
Mazzola finished with four goals, two assists, five ground balls and four caused turnovers; capping an impressive tournament run which netted her Most Valuable Player honors.
 
New England College raced out to an early 2-1 lead after the opening two minutes of play, thanks in large part to a healthy 4-0 advantage on the draw. Emily Bamberger (Brimfield, Mass.) drew the Pilgrims even at 28:26 and Amanda Naimie (York, Maine) potted her 87th goal of the season just 25 seconds later to grab the early lead. Naimie corralled the draw control, raced through the Spartan defense and beat Castleton goalie Kelsey McDonald (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) inside the far post.
 
The Spartans responded by scoring four of the next five goals, including two by Amanda Flodstrom (Stratham, N.H.) to take a lead they would not relinquish. After a Sarah Merrill (Dover, N.H.) marker brought the game to within 5-4 at the nine-minute mark, Castleton ended the half on a 4-2 run. Mazzola keyed the surge with a pair of goals.
 
Castleton opened the second half on a 5-1 run as Blake Wardwell (Bridgewater, Vt.) got in on the act with two goals, and Mazzola added a goal and an assist.
 
Bamberger briefly stopped the momentum, but Auer rattled off three goals sandwiched around Merrill's third goal of the game to keep the Pilgrims at bay and push the lead to 15-8.
 
Four more Castleton goals effectively put the game out of reach at 19-8, before a pair of NEC goals from finished off the scoring.
 
Flodstrom finished with four goals, while Mark tallied three and Wardwell chipped in two with an assist.
 
Naimie, who entered play with 86 goals on the season was limited by McDonald and the Spartan defense to two goals on ten shots, while providing three assists. Merrill and Bamberger finished with three goals each, while Chantale Lacroix (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in a pair.
 
The freshman McDonald was superb in net for the Spartans, turning away 15 shots, including all four free-position attempts she faced.
 
Rebecca Harvey (Natick, Mass.) made 12 saves in the loss as NEC's season ends at 10-9.
 
Castleton improves to 11-6 and advances to take on Morrisville State in the North Atlantic Conference title game, with a berth in the NCAA National Tournament at stake. The game will be played at Castleton, with a time still to be determined.
 
All-Tournament Team
 
Angelica Mazzola, Castleton – MVP
Kate Auer, Castleton
Samantha Bonasera, Castleton
JenniLee Mark, Castleton
Rebecca Harvey, New England College
Chantale Lacroix, New England College
Amanda Naimie, New England College
Brittany Murphy, Colby-Sawyer
Michelle Upham, Colby-Sawyer
Alyssa Neptune, Maine-Farmington
Emma Morrison, Maine-Farmington