BANGOR, Maine – Mallory Costello grabbed a dramatic game winner in the 106th minute as the Spartans battled back from an early one-goal deficit to pull out a vital North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory in double overtime at Husson, 2-1.

Costello scored a pair of goals in the match, and Nicole Wershoven recorded her third assist of the season to lift Castleton to victory.

The Spartans clinched the second seed in the North Atlantic Conference with today's win, guaranteeing a spot in the NAC Semifinals on Nov. 5.  Castleton's record now stands at 11-6-1 overall and 7-1-1 in the conference, while the Eagles drop to 10-7 on the season and 7-2 in the NAC.

In the opening minutes of play, the Spartans continually threatened the opposition, forcing Husson's keeper, Jess Poulin, to make three saves in the first ten minutes of the game.

However, it was the Eagles who struck first when Michaela Bicknell scored her first goal of the season in the 22nd minute. Lexi Crawford set up the play by delivering a pass to Bicknell who lifted the ball past Castleton's goalie, Jessica Binkowski, to give the home side an early one-goal advantage.

It took the Spartans 34 minutes to respond, and they did when Costello tallied her first goal of the match. The junior midfielder received the ball at the top of the box, firing a shot that flew past the keeper and into the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1.

Castleton continued to pressure the opposition, sending five shots towards goal in the remaining minutes of play, but the Eagles defense held firm, keeping the score even at one and forcing the match to head into extra time.

The Spartans dominated the first period of overtime with Costello and Dominique Valancius nearly grabbing a goal each only to be denied by Poulin. Husson's defense, however, could not stifle the visitor's attack much longer, and in the second period of extra time, Costello snatched the deciding goal in the 106th minute of play. Wershoven sent a through ball to Costello in the box, which the junior midfielder gathered and finished a shot into the bottom corner of the net to seal the 2-1 victory.

Castleton put on an impressive performance in the match, outshooting the Eagles by 13 and putting 14 total shots on target. Binkowksi picked up her second win of the season after producing six saves, while Poulin received the loss with 12 saves in the losing effort.

The Spartans finish their regular season on Wednesday when they square off with Union (N.Y.) on Senior Day in a non-conference match beginning at 7 pm.