CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton field hockey team scored once in the final 90 seconds but couldn't get another to force a tie as the Spartans fell 5-4 to Plymouth St. on Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. 

Both teams finished the game with 30 shots and received a pair of impressive performances in the cage, but the Panthers' three-goal advantage in the first half proved too much to overcome. Plymouth St. improved to 2-1 with the victory while Castleton dropped to 0-3 with the loss. 

Freshman Anna-Michelle Fabian led the Spartan scoring attack with two goals, while Kristy Pinkham added two goals and one assist. In net, senior Jess Galatioto made an impressive 17 saves while allowing five goals. 

Castleton peppered the Panther cage early but were unable to connect and Plymouth St. struck in the 13th minute. Kendal Lavriviere sent a cross to the middle for Kaitlyn Wilder and she finished off the play for the 1-0 lead. 

Just under 12 minutes later the Panthers added to their lead on a beautiful shot by Nikki Garvey. The senior ripped a shot from the far wing that went into the top corner past Galatioto. Plymouth St. pushed its lead to 3-0 on a nice backhanded shot from just inside the top of the shooting circle by Sam Carberry with 7:28 left in the half. 

The Spartans got on the board with 3:45 left in the first half as they earned a penalty stroke and Kristy Pinkham put it past Alivia Bates for the goal. 

Wilder extended the Panther lead to 4-1 with five minutes into the second half off a pass from Harvey. Fabian trimmed the deficit to 4-2 four minutes later after receiving a cross from Pinkham in front. 

In the 55th minute Fabian made it a one-goal game as she snuck a shot past Bates at 54:58. Trailing by one the Spartans continued to pressure the Panthers, however, they earned some breathing room as Carberry scored with just 7:34 left to make it 5-3. 

One minute later, Briana Bocelli nearly had a goal but was denied by Bates. Castleton cut it to one again, 5-4, with just 1:23 left as Pinkham had a shot deflect slightly off a defender and hit the back of the cage. Neither team was able to get a shot off in the final minute. 

Wilder finished with a two goals and one assist while Carberry had a pair. Bates stopped 18 shots in total while allowing four goals to earn the win. The Panthers also earned just one more penalty corner, 18-17, than Castleton. 

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they travel to face Mount Holyoke at 12 pm.