CASTLETON, Vt. – With just 4:01 left in the first overtime, Solo Felekeni received the ball near the far post and fired it home to secure the Spartans' spot in the ECAC Semifinals for the first time since 2011 with a 2-1 victory over the Western New England (WNE) Golden Bears this evening at Spartan Stadium.

Ndayisenga Van Dame started the attack in the extra frame when he shuffled the ball over to Jake Tietgens in the box. Tietgens then sent a soft pass towards goal that Felekeni collected and finished for the game-winner. Tietgens finished the contest with one goal and one assist, while Van Dame and Blake contributed assists in the game.

Castleton were outshot in the contest 20-14, but delivered five more shots on target than the Golden Bears, as they improved to 15-5-2 on the year with the victory. WNE, meanwhile, finished their season at 11-9 overall.

The Spartans had their first true scoring chance of the game in the tenth minute of play when Tietgens fired a shot on target from 35 yards out on a free kick. The senior's attempt was a bending effort on net; however, WNE's Kevin Strobel made a fantastic diving save to clear the ball from danger.

Just three minutes later, Castleton was at it again, but this time Tietgens finished his effort for the first score of the game. At the 13:54 mark, Nihad Basic delivered a pass from the far wing to Hart inside the box, and the senior rifled a left-footed shot on net that forced Strobel into action with another great save. Fortunately for the Spartans, the rebound landed at Tietgens feet just in front of the net, and he chipped it home to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The Golden Bears nearly had their equalizer in the 19th minute, as a Spartan defender failed to clear Josh Loomis' low cross near the far post, but Maurice Young's effort deflected off the crossbar and out of play.

WNE found the crossbar, once again, in the 31st minute when Logan Pingree's strike ricocheted off it and was saved by Amir Pasic, as the Spartans defense held strong over the final 14 minutes of the first half to maintain their one-goal lead heading into the break.

The Golden Bears came out of halftime by heavily pressuring the Spartan defense, and at the 47:33 mark, Liccardi brought the game back to level terms with his first career goal. Chad Burke delivered a corner from the far side of the field that Liccardi headed towards the far post. Pasic was there to deny the attempt, but his save deflected off the post and into the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.

WNE nearly took the lead just minutes later when a defensive blunder allowed Troy Remillard to create a one-on-one scoring opportunity in the box. The sophomore forward forced Pasic to come out from the net and his chipped shot cleared the Spartan goalie, but Paul Phillips was able to make a goal line, defense save to uphold the 1-1 score.

In the 62nd minute, the Spartans came just short of reclaiming the lead. Tietgens had the ball at the top of the box and dribbled towards the end line before sending a cross to an unmarked Glenn Devine at the far post. The freshman delivered a quality header on net, but Strobel came up big again for the Golden Bears to make the save and preserve the even affair.

Neither team was able to claim the offensive momentum in the remaining 28 minutes of play, as the game headed to overtime in a 1-1 tie.

With just 4:01 left in the extra frame, Van Dame and Tietgens set up the game-winner, as Felekeni buried his eighth goal of the year just inside the far post to secure a 2-1, Spartan victory in the quarterfinals.  

Pasic picked up his 14th win of the season after tallying two saves with just one goal allowed in 95 minutes of play. His counterpart, Strobel, turned in an even more impressive display, producing seven saves, including a number of fantastic diving efforts, in the losing display.

With the victory, Castleton advances to the semifinals of the ECAC Championship and will the face top-seeded Endicott Gulls in the semifinals on Saturday. The championship game will be held the following day.