HENNIKER, N.H. – Castleton led just 6-5 late in the first half, but took control over the final 40 minutes, outscoring New England College 12-3 the rest of the way to earn an 18-8 victory on the road Wednesday afternoon. 

The Spartans outshot the Pilgrims 37-28 and picked up three more ground balls as they improved to a perfect 6-0 in the North Atlantic Conference and 8-5 overall. NEC, meanwhile, dropped to 9-7 and 5-2 in the conference play. 

Senior Brandi Whittemore scored five goals with two draw controls while classmate Brianna MacKay recorded seven goals, one assist and three ground balls. Maria Ploof added two goals, three assists and two ground balls while Ashley Pelkey chipped in one goal and one assist. 

Gabriella Bigos led the NEC offense with four goals, and Allison Granata had six draw controls, five ground balls, four caused turnovers and two goals. Tara Bainbridge chipped in two goals and one assist. 

Whittemore opened the scoring just 1:46 into the contest off a feed from Ploof. MacKay followed with back-to-back goals over the next four minutes to make it a 3-0 contest. Chantel Wilkin, Whittemore and MacKay added to the lead for a 6-0 advantage through ten minutes of play.

NEC finally scored with 19:06 left on a goal by Bigos, and that jumpstarted a Pilgrim run. They came back with four more goals over the next six minutes to trim the Castleton lead to just 6-5. However, Ploof gave the Spartans some breathing room with a goal at 8:44, while MacKay and Wilkin each added a score in the final three minutes of the half for a 9-5 advantage. 

Bigos cut the deficit to 9-6 four minutes into the second half, but three consecutive Castleton goals over the next ten minutes made it a six-goal game with 16 minutes left in regulation. Granata broke the Spartan scoring streak momentarily, before five goals over the next five minutes provided a 17-7 for the Spartans lead with ten minutes remaining. Each team scored once in the last six minutes for the ten-goal win. 

Meghan Els earned the win in net with another impressive performance. She stopped 15 shots while allowing eight goals. Mackenzie Meegan took the loss as she stopped 15 shots and gave up 18 goals. 

Castleton returns to action on Saturday when the team hosts Johnson State at 4:30 pm.