BANGOR, Maine – The Spartans scored two second half goals on Sunday, but came up just short of notching their third consecutive victory, falling to Husson in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action, 3-2.

Spencer Dandurand and Bryce Kaler provided the goals for Castleton, while Paul Phillips recorded an assist as the Spartans finished the regular season with a record of 8-9-1 overall and 5-3-1 in conference. With the victory, Husson claimed sole possession of third place in the NAC and improved to 7-2 in the conference and 10-2 overall.

The opening period of play was an even contest as both teams tested the keepers and produced scoring opportunities. However, it was the Eagles who grabbed the first lead of the game when Phil Frost dribbled around Castleton's keeper, Amir Pasic, and finished into an open net to make it 1-0 after 35 minutes of play.

The Spartans didn't find an equalizer until after the break when Dandurand, who leads the team with seven goals, delivered a cross into the box that deflected off of a defender and into the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 50th minute.

Seven minutes later, Husson responded with their second goal of the match. A ball was headed to Cam Libbey from a thrown in, and the Eagles forward volleyed a one-timer past the keeper to make it 2-1 in favor of the home side.

Husson's attack continued to threaten inside the final third, and in the 61st minute, the Eagles doubled their lead. Frost delivered a cross in front of goal that Libbey finished for his second score of the match to give Husson a two-goal advantage.

With just 12 minutes to play, Kaler gave the away side some hope when he cut the Spartans deficit in half with his third goal of the season. Phillips passed the ball to Kaler from a free kick, and the team's captain fired a shot into the upper portion of the net to make it 3-2.

Just two minutes later, Dameon Young was able to deliver a pair of shots on target, but Husson's keeper, Brian Potter, was there to stop his efforts.

Castleton was outshot by the hosts 19-15, but still managed to put nine shots on goal. Pasic moved to 3-2 on the season after producing six saves in the loss, while Potter notched his tenth win of 2014 after making stopping seven shots in 90 minutes of action.

Even with the loss, the Spartans finished fifth in the NAC rankings, qualifying for the conference tournament. Therefore, Castleton will return to action next Saturday when they play at Thomas in quarterfinal action as part of the NAC Tournament.