Castleton, Vt. - The Spartans staved off a fiesty MCLA squad and held on to a slim margin for the majority of the game. The home team edged out the Trailblazers 1-0 to earn their ninth win of the season at Spartan Stadium Wednesday night.

The Spartans improved to 9-2-2 with the win, as Nate Koenemann made four saves to earn his fifth shutout on the season. Castleton outshot the Trailblazers 19-8 in the victory, with the Spartan defense keeping the MCLA front line from getting any quality looks.

Alex McCormick led off the scoring with his first career collegiate goal in the eighth minute of play. The freshman beat a defender in the middle of the field and struck a bending ball from 20 yards out that beat goalkeeper Matt Robinson and found the top right corner of the net. 

Despite a combined 16 shots in the first half, neither team could find the net and the score at halftime remained 1-0.

MCLA had their best opportunity in the 63rd minute when Tyler Guzzi played a 50-yard lofted ball to Castleton's left flank. Forward Dylan Pereira beat a Castleton defender and found himself with just Koenemann to beat. The forward ripped a shot right into the gut of the goalie, who made the save to maintain the Spartan shutout. It was MCLA's only shot of the frame.

Castleton extended their unbeaten streak to seven games with the victory, going 6-0-1 over that stretch. The streak is the longest of its kind since the 2004 season when the Spartans won eight games in a row.

The squad will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 19 when they host Colby-Sawyer in a North Atlantic Conference matchup. The contest will mark Castleton's last regular season game at home and will include a recognition of the seniors on the roster.