CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton's Men's Soccer team jumped out to a one-goal lead in the first period of play before doubling its lead in the second half to capture a 2-0 victory over the Maine Maritime Mariners this afternoon at Husson University in the 4th Annual Adidas Cup Challenge.

The Spartans put on a dominating offensive display, outshooting the opposition 16-8 with eight shots on target. Jake Tietgens and Cameron Rossi-Crete accounted for the Castleton goals, while Steven Koenemann picked up an assist to help the squad improve to 2-2 on the season. The Mariners, meanwhile, drop to 1-4 on the year in the losing effort.

The game started off slow, with neither team scoring in the opening 43 minutes of play. However, with just one minute to spare in the half, Jake Tietgens found some space and buried home his second score of the year. The senior attacker received a pass from Koenemann about 15 yards from the goal before finishing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to hand the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

With just 22 minutes remaining in the game, Castleton was at it again when Rossi-Crete scored his first career collegiate goal to hand the club a 2-0 lead. The freshman forward received the ball ten yards out from the goal and finished a shot top shelf to extend Castleton's advantage to two.

In the final minutes of play, the Spartans were able to withhold any late pressure from the Mariners to preserve the shutout and capture their second win in the last three contests with a 2-0 victory.

Amir Pasic (2-2) delivered another fantastic outing between the sticks, stopping three saves to collect his second shutout victory of the year. Meanwhile, Joshua Reeks and Marshall Spear split time in net for Maine Maritime, recording a joint six saves in the losing effort. 

Castleton returns to action tomorrow evening at 5 pm when it squares off with the Southern Maine Huskies in the second round of the tournament at Husson University.