GORHAM, Maine – Castleton fell down 1-0 in the first period, but rallied to earn a 1-1 draw with the University of Southern Maine Huskies at USM Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Anna Daniels scored the lone Spartan goal in the contest, as the squad moves to 11-10-2 overall and 6-7-2 in the ECAC East with the result. Southern Maine, meanwhile, skated to its third tie of the season and now sports a 7-13-3 (5-7-3 ECAC East) overall record. With the result, Castleton and the UMass Boston Beacons are joint fourth in the conference with 14 points, while the Huskies trail one point behind. 

Southern Maine struck first just past the halfway mark in the opening frame when Julia Pearl slotted home her seventh goal of the season. Chelsea Boucher skated towards the crease and fired a shot on goal that Castleton's Jess Cameron saved, but Pearl was there to finish the rebound and give the hosts a 1-0 lead with 8:52 remaining in the first.

The Spartans appeared to have found their equalizer later in the period, but the goal, which was deflected in, was disallowed due to high-sticking.

The Castleton attack continued to pressure the opposition, and with 59 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Daniels found the back of the net to even the game at one. The junior forward picked off a pass at the blue line before finishing a shot past the Huskies' Nia Kelly to make it 1-1 heading into the middle frame.

With the game on level terms, the Spartan attack continued to pose a threat in the offensive zone, and in the second period, the visiting side seemed to have taken the lead when the puck slipped past Kelly and into the back of the net. However, the goal was waved off after it was deemed that the referee had already stopped play.

The Huskies defense held Castleton scoreless for the final 45:59 of play en route to earning a 1-1 result. In net, Kelly finished the afternoon with 27 saves to move to 0-3-3 on the season, while Cameron now holds a 4-6-1 record after turning aside 18 shots. 

The Spartans play their final two games of the season next weekend at Spartan Arena when they host the fourth-ranked Norwich Cadets and New England College Pilgrims on Friday and Saturday.