PAXTON, Mass. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team held a one-goal lead heading into the final quarter, but was unable to hold on as Anna Maria outscored the Spartans 3-1 in the final 15 minutes, handing Castleton an 8-7 loss at Caparso Field.

The game was a tight battle all night long as neither side led by more than two at any point in the contest. Castleton (0-2) had advantages in multiple stat categories, including ground balls (39-33), face-offs (13-9), turnovers (27-30), shots (46-35) and clears (22-21), but was unable to convert on enough offensive opportunities to come out victorious. The Spartans committed 11 penalties, but the defense suffocated Anna Maria to the tune of 1-for-11 on the man-advantage.

Maxx Ingision shouldered the tough-luck loss in goal, making 15 saves on the evening, 10 of which came in the first half. Chris Labonte notched his first career hat trick, scoring three times on the night while grabbing a pair of ground balls. Cameron Russell added two scores, an assist and two ground balls while Collin Johnson and Xavier McKenna tallied goals for the Spartans. Trey Lang added two assists offensively. Casey Meczywor had a team-high six ground balls, while Jeremy Clements added five for Castleton.

The Anna Maria offense was led by Cameron Perry and Zion Mercado's four-point days, as they each scored two goals with two assists. Kory Fortier added two goals and one assist, with Brandon Pavoni adding the other two goals for Anna Maria. Garrett Strain had a game-high nine ground balls, and Griffin Moore collected the win in goal making 15 saves while allowing just seven goals.

Castleton fell behind early, as Anna Maria got just more than five minutes into play. The Spartans then notched two goals within a 67-second span, as Labonte and Russell put Castleton ahead 2-1 with 5:28 to play in the first quarter. The score held into the second quarter, when Castleton extended its lead to 3-1 just 57 seconds into the frame. Labonte notched his second marker of the contest, but goals by Perry and Pavoni leveled the score at 3-3 with 11:02 to play before halftime. Less than two minutes later, Labonte completed the hat trick and gave Castleton a 4-3 lead that it would hold the remainder of the half.

Out of the halftime break, Castleton again pushed its lead to two goals when Russell potted his second of the night with at the 2:04 mark of the quarter. Anna Maria answered five minutes later with a goal from Fortier, drawing within just one goal—5-4. Johnson then scored to give Castleton a 6-4 lead, but the AMCATS drew closer once more when Mercado made it a 6-5 game with 4:33 left in the quarter. Neither side got on the board again in the third, sending the game to the final 15 minutes with Castleton on top by one.

Anna Maria rattled off three straight goals to start the fourth quarter, giving them four unanswered goals in total and a two-goal lead, 8-6, with just under nine minutes to play. McKenna drew Castleton within one with 8:10 showing on the clock, but neither side could crack the scoring column again, with the final horn sounding on an 8-7 game.

The Spartans are slated to play in Dave Wolk Stadium for the first time this season on Saturday, as Castleton hosts SUNY Canton at 1 p.m.