CASTLETON, Vt. – In front of a packed crowd, the Castleton rugby team took care of business Sunday night, winning both games in shutout fashion en route to the 2-0 victory over the Valiants in their home finale.
 
The Spartans (4-2, 4-2 NIRA) got on the board quickly in Game 1, taking just over a minute to open the day's scoring. Coming off a lineout play, the ball was brought down by Natalie Simicek. The junior then lowered her head and — with the help of her teammates — bulldozed her way into the try zone to make it a 5-0 game.
 
Forty seconds later, some harassing defense by Castleton forced a Manhattanville (1-4, 1-4 NIRA) kick, which was recovered by Katelynn Dunn. The freshman would take the ball from the right sideline all the way across the field before being tackled, but acting quickly out of the ruck, it was Hannah Coupas earning her first trip to the try zone to double the Spartans' lead.
 
The opening half would end with a bang, when Coupas turned what appeared to be a Valiants try into a 110-yard return the other way, beating everybody for her second try of the day. Haley Conway would hit the conversion attempt and Castleton would enter halftime up 17-0.
 
The second half of Game 1 brought more of the same dominance from the Spartans, as Coupas would find the try zone two more times, and junior Aubrey Tetlow would score her first of the day to hand Castleton the comfortable 34-0 victory in Game 1.
 
Game 2 started similarly for the Spartans, who took just 30 seconds to get on the board. Off a quick reset, Said St. Andrews passed the ball to Pamela McCullough, who threw a perfect pass to a streaking Tetlow. The junior used a burst of speed to get to the outside before taking the ball all the way to the try zone to make it 5-0.
 
Manhattanville would matriculate down the field over the next five minutes, but some tough defense and tackling from the Spartans kept them off the scoreboard. When Castleton finally got the ball back, they moved down the field quickly, and it was St. Andrews finishing off the drive with her first score of the day.
 
The Spartans would add a little more cushion to their lead as the first half expired, with the score coming from Olivia Day. This time it was Simicek giving the nice feed outside to the senior, who easily beat the Valiant backs for the try, giving Castleton a 15-0 lead heading into the break.
 
The second half of Game 2 started quickly for the Spartans, who recovered their own kick-off in Manhattanville territory. Tetlow received the ball out of the ruck and took it all the way down to the 10-yard line before being brought down and forcing a scrum. Out of the reset, it was freshman Katelynn Dunn who recovered the ball and ran it into the try zone for her first score of the day, giving Cstleton a commanding 20-0 lead.
 
Trys from Conway and Coupas in the final minutes of the half would put the Spartans up big and earn them their second 30-plus point victory of the day, completing the shutout and the sweep.
 
Next up for the Spartans is a rematch against Manhattanville College Sunday, Oct. 31 that will serve as the team's season-finale. Kick-off is set for 3 p.m.