CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans scored the opening goal of the game but Plymouth St. countered with the next six to take the lead for good on the way to a 14-7 victory on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. 

Castleton was outshot 50-35 in the contest and won only 8 of 25 faceoffs as the team dropped to 0-3 overall. The Panthers, meanwhile, controlled the pace of play through the final three quarters and also went 14-for-19 on clears to improve to 3-1 on the year. 

Senior Zach Davidson led the offense with two goals and two assists while Louis Alhage added one goal, one assist, four ground balls and one caused turnover. Dillon Robinson led the team with three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls. 

Nick Morello was the Panthers' top scorer with five goals, one assist and four ground balls. Nicco Sorrentino added three goals and two assists while Phil Pichel chipped in with one goal, two assists and three ground balls. Brandon Lee and Kyle Stockman combined to go an impressive 17-for-22 in the faceoff circle. 

Both offenses struggled early, with Swarter opening the scoring with 2:37 left in the quarter off a feed from Davidson. The Panthers responded with two goals in the last two minutes for a 2-1 lead after one quarter. 

Plymouth St. extended its lead to 3-1 on Morello's second of the game at 10:11. C.J. Frates added another score and Morello put in back-to-back goals to push the Panther lead to 6-1 with 6:47 left in the half. Alex Denny ended the run with a goal at 2:40 and Davidson brought the Spartans back within three before the half. 

The third quarter was all Panthers as they outshot Castleton 17-4 and pushed their lead to 10-3 with four more goals. In the fourth, Davidson cut the deficit to 10-4 with 11:54 left but the Spartans wouldn't get any closer as Plymouth scored four times in the period to finish with the 14-7 win. 

Junior Peter Latulippe took the loss, giving up five goals with two saves in 21:46. Sam Polas came on in relief and made eight saves while allowing nine goals in 38:14. Chris St. George improved to 3-1 by making 12 saves and giving up just six goals in 58:58. 

The Spartans look to earn their first win of the year when they host Green Mountain on Tuesday at 6 pm.