HENNIKER, N.H. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team dropped a non-conference matchup against former conference foe New England College by a final score of 15-6 Thursday night at Don Melander Field.
 
The Spartans drop to 0-8 with the loss, while NEC improves to 5-3 on the season. NEC finished the night with a 51-27 advantage in shots, and a 38-27 edge in ground balls. The Pilgrims went 16-of-25 at the face-off dot, and 14-of-21 on the clear, while Castleton succeeded on 13-of-18 clear attempts.
 
Conner Ladabouche netted his first career hat trick for the Spartans, scoring three times on five shots on goal. Chris LaBonte added two scores and 10 ground balls, while Trey Lang had a goal and an assist. Collin Johnson contributed two assists in the loss. Chris Wilk made 16 saves in the contest, his second-highest total of the season.
 
Patrick Storie had a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists, with Luca Ferreira adding five points by way of two goals and three assists. Connor Smith netted four goals, while Charles Hacking added three. Thomas Doe had eight ground balls and Quint Bartush seven. Four players total caused three turnovers each for the Pilgrims. Mark Paquariello had four saves and Luke Westcoat three as the two goalies split action.
 
The Pilgrims raced out to a 12-0 lead at halftime, but Castleton scored the only three goals in the third quarter as Lang got Castleton on the board before Ladabouche scored back-to-back goals for the Spartans to make it 12-3. NEC notched the first goal of the fourth, before LaBonte netted a pair of goals to make it 13-5. After NEC went ahead 14-5, Ladabouche completed the hat trick for Castleton. The Pilgrims capped the game with a final goal to make it 15-6.
 
Castleton returns to action Saturday at WestConn at 1 p.m.