GORHAM, Maine – The Castleton men's soccer team shouldered a tough, 1-0, loss on Friday afternoon at the hands of the Coast Guard Academy in the Husky Fall Classic on the campus of the U. of Southern Maine.

Aaron Parker made four stops in the contest, but surrendered an early goal on a penalty kick by Coast Guard's Alex Lane that turned out to be the game-winner. Thomas Kirk and Nihad Basic each had shots on goal in the loss, but neither could convert to draw the game level.

Midway through the opening stanza, the Bears received a corner kick, which Lane sent into the box. The ball then ricocheted off of a Spartan defender's hand, giving Coast Guard an opportunity to take an early lead. Lane stepped up to the spot and buried it into the bottom-left corner, just under the hands of a diving Parker, giving his team a lead in the 28th minute.

In the second half, Coast Guard had a chance to double its lead to two goals, when Lane had a free kick from 25 yards out. He went for the net, but missed wide right to keep the score where it was.

Castleton had a golden chance to tie the game late in the final frame, but a long ball by Paul Phillips couldn't connect with a Castleton forward and was cleared out of harm's way by the Bears.

The Spartans are back in action tomorrow for their second and final game of the Husky Fall Classic at USM. Castleton will face off with Westfield St. at 1 p.m.