CASTLETON, Vt. – A late goal by Paul Phillips made the difference on Saturday evening at Spartan Stadium, as the senior's strike lifted the Castleton men's soccer team to its first victory of the season, 2-1, over New England College in the North Atlantic Conference season-opener.

Castleton is now 1-3-2 after the win, and 1-0 in NAC play. New England College drops to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play following the defeat.

Phillips tallied the game-winning goal in the 71st minute after a costly foul by the Pilgrims allowed him to strike from more than 40 yards out. Jack Kingdon also got into the scoring column for the first time in his career, tying the game in the 18th minute of the game with a header off of a long throw in by Derek Blouin. Aaron Parker made seven saves in goal, allowing just one goal on eight shots against.

For New England College, Siad Haji scored the lone goal on an assist from Sina Samali in the 12th minute to give his team the brief lead. Dylan Mix stopped eight of the 10 shots he faced in net for the Pilgrims.

NEC got on the board first, as Haji took a pass from Samali just outside the box and let go a booming left-footed shot that found its way into the right side of the goal beyond the outstretched reach of Parker.

The Spartans' deficit didn't last long, as Kingdon evened it up just more than six minutes later. Blouin sent a long throw into the box, and Kingdon rose above the defense to get a head on it and send it into the right side of the net to draw the game even at 1-1. Each side would battle back and forth the remainder of the half, sending the contest into the break still tied.

In the second half, both sides continued the scoreless action until late in the contest. With just less than 20 minutes to play in regulation, the Spartans drew a foul that gave the squad a free kick. Phillips put a strong right boot on it, sending it more than 40 yards, over the fingertips of Mix and into the back of the net to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Just seven minutes later, Kingdon had a chance to put the game on ice, as he took a pass from a teammate and split Pilgrim defenders to go on a breakaway. With only the goalie left to beat, Kingdon touched the ball just out of reach and it was scooped up by Mix to end the scoring threat.

With time winding down and the Pilgrims pressing for a goal, the Spartans were tagged with a yellow card that allowed NEC a free kick from just outside the box. Haji lined up over the ball in search of his second goal of the day, but he shot rang off the crossbar and out of play to return possession to the home team.

NEC held a 22-18 shot advantage, but the Spartans put 10 shots on goal compared to the Pilgrims' eight. Each side had one corner kick opportunity, while the fouls were nearly even at 13-12.

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Norwich at 7 p.m.