CASTLETON, Vt. - The Castleton field hockey handed UMaine-Farmington its first loss of the season this afternoon, 4-2, in the opening conference matchup of the 2016 campaign. 

The win moves Castleton to 3-5 on the season and 1-0 in the North Atlantic Conference, while the Beavers fall to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the NAC.

Castleton jumped out to an early lead nearly midway through the first half when Haley Spittle lifted her shot in front of the goal and found the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the season.

Less than six minutes later, Spittle, racing down the sidelines, delivered a perfect feed to Emily Lowell right in front of the cage for the one-timer goal to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead at the 21:55 mark of the first half.

The Spartans were back at it just one minute later on a corner play when Rachel Holland took the pass in from Lowell at the top of the circle and smacked a screamer that found the back of the cage. Holland's third goal of the season gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead heading into the break.

UMaine-Farmington brought heavy pressure out of the gates in the second stanza, tallying four consecutive shots on goal just three minutes into the half but solid defense and strong goalkeeping kept the Spartans advantage in act.

A back-and-forth second half was highlighted by Cassidy Auger's beautiful tip in goal off Holland's shot that came from the top of the circle at the 58:47 mark. Auger's second goal of the season, sandwiched between two UMaine-Farmington goals, provided insurance and preserved the 4-2 victory for the Spartans.

Spittle, Lowell, and Holland each shared a goal and an assist to lead the Spartans on the afternon, while Leah Holland recorded her second career win with seven saves in the cage. The junior goalkeeper has a .714 save percentage on the season. 

Castleton will have a four-game road trip beginning at Rensselaer on Wednesday for a matchup against the Engineers, starting at 6 p.m.