HENNIKER, N.H. – Thomas Kirk's strike in the 47th minute of play lifted the Castleton Spartans to a 1-0 victory this afternoon over the New England College Pilgrims in North Atlantic Conference play.

The Pilgrims held the edge in shots 10-8 with seven shots on target in the losing effort. With the victory, Castleton improves to 7-2-1 overall, including a perfect 3-0 mark in the NAC, while extending its unbeaten run to seven games. NEC, meanwhile, suffers its second loss in the conference and falls to 7-5 on the year.

Following a scoreless first half of play, Kirk opened his scoring account in a Spartan uniform to hand the away side a 1-0 lead. After intercepting the ball on a failed clearance attempt, the freshman defender scored on a half volley from thirty yards out that drifted into the top left corner of the net to put the Spartans in front by one.

That goal proved to be enough, as Castleton held off the Pilgrims attack, which produced six shots over the final 43 minutes of play, to capture its sixth win in its last seven matches with a 1-0 result. 

Senior Amir Pasic was, once again, in fine form for the Spartans, collecting seven saves to record his fifth clean sheet of the season. With the shutout, Castleton has now allowed just one goal with six shutouts in its last seven matches. Dylan Mix suffered the loss for NEC and now stands at 3-3 on the year after producing three saves.

The Spartans are back in action this Saturday at 1 pm when they host the Green Mountain College Eagles at Spartan Stadium as part of a men's and women's soccer NAC doubleheader.