Gorham, Maine - The Spartans erased a four-goal second half deficit but couldn't convert when it counted, falling 12-10 to Southern Maine in Gorham on Saturday.

Jennilee Mark led the Spartans' offense with three goals, seven ground balls, and two forced turnovers, and Sarah Clark scored twice with an assist, but the Spartan were held scoreless for the final twelve minutes, falling to 0-4 to begin the season. 

Southern Maine lit up the scoreboard first with a goal from Jacki Kelly just 1:50 into the game to put the Huskies up 1-0. That score was followed by three consecutive goals from the Spartans. Sarah Clark, Jennilee Mark, and Mariah Lesure each notched goals within a 2:00 stretch, putting Castleton up 3-1. 

The Huskies responded with a 4-0 run of their own. Samantha Purcell notched a goal before Kelly scored two consecutive goals to give Southern Maine a 4-3 lead. Then Rosie Forster added to the Huskies' tally to extend the home team's advantage with 12:35 remaining in the half.  

With the Spartans reeling, Mark stepped up again to pull the Spartans within one on a free position shot with 9:48 left. After a Huskies goal, Mark struck again with 35 seconds left in the frame to bring the Spartans within one at the half. 

In the second half, the Huskies came out hot, going on a 3-0 run to begin the half. With the Spartans trailing 9-5, Kate Auer buried a free position shot with 21:25 remaining to begin a Spartan run of four unanswered goals. Amanda Flodstrom, Samantha Bonasera, and Jessica Taplin each followed with goals to tie the game at 9-9 with 17:33 remaining.

Sarah Pelligrinelli notched a goal for the Huskies to put the home team up 10-9 with 12:41 remaining in the game, but the Spartans responded just 38 seconds later with a goal from Clark to tie the game with 12:03 to play.

The Huskies shut down the Spartans for the rest of the evening though, holding the visitors scoreless for the remaining twelve minutes. Anh Nguyen put the Huskies up 11-10 with 7:39 to play, and Kelly notched her fifth score of the game with 3:57 left to add an extra cushion to their lead. The Spartans failed to answer and fell 12-10.

Meghan Els made fourteen saves in the losing effort for the Spartans, while Kim Vogel stopped 14 Spartan shots in the win for the Huskies.

Castleton will return to action Thursday, Mar. 21 at 7 p.m. when they host RPI.