CASTLETON, Vt. - The Castleton Men's Soccer team lost its opening game of the season 1-0 to three-time defending Little East Champion (LEC) Eastern Connecticut State. The lone goal of the game came in the 13th minute courtesy of a header by the Warriors Adam Traxler.

The Warriors kicked off the game by attacking the Castleton defense quickly and often. In the third minute, the they had their first real chance of the game when a defensive lapse allowed Tyler Jones to break free with the ball. All he had was the keeper between him and the net, but Castleton's Dan Palker forced a shot that went wide.

Just ten minutes later Eastern struck home off of a corner to give the team a 1-0 lead. Forward Konnor Scarponi struck Nicholas Warren's corner first, heading the ball to Traxler, who then headed it past Palker for his first career collegiate goal.

In the 31st minute, Traxler nearly doubled his goal tally as Castleton's Paul Phillips cleared his header off the goal for a defensive save. The Warriors continued to attack for the remainder of the first forty-five minutes, but was unable to add to their lead thanks to four saves from Palker.

Castleton was finally able to get some momentum going forward in the second half. In the 51st, the Spartans received their first two corners of the game. The second corner, sent in by senior Bryce Kaler, resulted in a shot by senior Dameon Young that missed wide.

The Warriors quickly counter-attacked, creating numbers in their favor. The quick counter resulted in a penalty as an Eastern player was brought down in the box. Palker was issued a yellow card for the offense in his first career start.

Forward Xavier Doran stepped up and took the penalty for the Warriors, but his shot was knocked wide by a diving Palker. 

Eastern continued its attacking display throughout the remainder of the match, ultimately leading to five second-half saves by Palker, who had nine total for the game.

In the final fifteen minutes of regulation, Castleton's offense picked up, as it was able to gain momentum. The Spartans closest scoring chance of the game happened in the 78th minute when junior Jake Tietgens forced the Warriors keeper Jason Smith to make one of his two saves of the game. It marked one of nine second-half corners that Castleton failed to take advantage of.

A blocked shot by junior Justin Hepburn in the 89th minute was the last chance for the Spartans as the Warriors came away with a deserved 1-0 victory.

With the loss, Castleton is now 0-1-0 on the season, and the Warriors advance to 1-0-0. The Spartans will be back in action on Sunday, August 31 as they travel to Rhode Island to face Johnson and Wales.