CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton men's soccer team couldn't overcome an early deficit, falling to Thomas on Sunday afternoon by a final score of 2-0 in a North Atlantic Conference match at Spartan Stadium.

Castleton falls to 4-6-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play with the loss, while Thomas remains unbeaten in the NAC at 6-0.

Dan Palker had four saves in goal for the Spartans, and four different players had shots on goal but none could find the back of the net.

Thomas's Adam LaBrie scored both goals in the contest, netting game-winning goal in the 10th minute before putting the game on ice in the 88th minute with an insurance goal. Drew Martin stopped all four shots he faced in goal for the Terriers.

Thomas opened the scoring in the 10th minute, as DJ Nicholas carried the ball to the end line and sent a centering pass to LaBrie, who directed the ball into an open net for a 1-0 Thomas lead.

Castleton had a chance to tie the game in the 31st minute, as Jack Kingdon and Fidele Rutayisire charged the net—but Kingdon's shot was saved by Martin to keep the Spartans scoreless. One minute later, Thomas had another chance as Willie Clemons weaved through the defense and let go a low drive from just outside the box. A diving stop by Palker kept the ball out of the net and the score at 1-0 in favor of the visitors.

In the 40th minute, the Spartans' defense again came up big as two Spartan defenders combined to make a defensive save after Terrier forward Josh Emard collected a loose ball with Palker still on the ground.

The Spartans came out of the halftime break looking for the equalizer, putting a pair of shots on goal and drawing two corner kicks in the second stanza. The Thomas defense was too much to overcome, as time and again it turned away Castleton's advances.

With time winding down in the contest, Clemons dribbled the ball up the left side of the field before sending a cross to LaBrie on the right side. LaBrie pulled the trigger, placing the ball in the upper-right corner to give his squad a 2-0 lead with just more than one minute to play.

Thomas outshot Castleton 20-9 overall and 7-4 on goal, and also held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks. Castleton was charged with 10 fouls while Thomas was hit with five.

Castleton is back on the pitch on Wednesday when it hosts Middlebury at 7 p.m.