HENNIKER, N.H. – The Castleton men's soccer team battled defending North Atlantic Conference Champion New England College to a 1-1, double-overtime draw in the conference opener for both squads Saturday night at Don Melander Field.

With the tie, Castleton moves to 1-5-1 on the season and 0-0-1 in conference play. New England College is now 1-2-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the NAC after the draw.

The Spartans struck first with a goal in the 16th minute to jump out to an early lead. Colby Gay fired a shot from the right side of the box that deflected off the left post and found its way across the goal line to give Castleton the 1-0 advantage. Jack Kingdon tallied an assist on the goal.

Despite a period of opportunities for both teams in the final minutes, a shot from each side sailed wide as the Spartans took their 1-0 lead into halftime.

New England College came out strong in the second half, netting the equalizer in the 50th minute. Panagiotis Galatas sent a header off the post, before Tucker Stenger found the rebound and sent it to the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1 just five minutes into the second frame.

Spartan goalkeeper Aaron Parker made a pair of key saves in the final minutes of regulation, as the back-and-forth period ended with the score still knotted up, 1-1.

The Spartans came away with an early opportunity in the first overtime period coming off a corner kick from Fidele Rutayisire. The ensuing cross found its way to Gay, who sailed a shot just wide to keep the score intact. Thomas Kirk nearly netted the game-winner in the 94th minute with a header that just skipped off the crossbar. Rutayisire, Seraphin Iradukunda, and Abinash Rai each put a shot on goal in the first overtime, but the Pilgrims were able to hold on to send the game to the second extra period.

New England College collected the lone shot on goal in the second overtime, with Parker nabbing a save on the other end. Rutayisire lifted a shot wide in the final minutes, proving to be the final chance for either side as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Kingdon led the Spartans with three shots on goal. Parker finished the match with a season-high nine saves to move to 1-5-1 on the season, while Pilgrims' goalkeeper earned 10 saves of his own to shift his record to 0-1-2 in goal.

The Spartans outshot the Pilgrims, 28-20, including 11-10 on goal in a back-and-forth 110 minutes of action. Castleton held an advantage in corner kicks, 7-2, while fouls finished at 20 aside.

Castleton returns home to host Green Mountain Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.