CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton women's soccer team hosted Western Connecticut in an LEC showdown Saturday afternoon, falling 3-0 to the Wolves in front of the home crowd.
 
The Spartans (3-8, 1-2 LEC) outshot the Wolves (7-3, 4-0 LEC) 16-14 in the contest — the first time they were outshot by an LEC team this season — but conversions in the final third were the difference-maker in the tightly-contested game.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the game that saw both sides create chances, a handball in the box set up WestConn with a penalty kick that Myah Croze would send into the bottom corner for the game's opening score.
 
Castleton almost leveled the score in the 18^th minute when a corner kick from Alexis Billings found the head of Megan Ezzo, but the sophomore's shot was denied by the Wolves' Kasey Donnelly. Instead, it was WestConn's Suzana Imetovski doubling their lead at the 18:36 mark, beating the Spartans' backline before slipping the ball past Alex Benfatti to make it 2-0.
 
Castleton's defense, led by Alex Benfatti, locked down for the remainder of the half, turning away four Wolves shots on frame to enter the break down just two.
 
After a strong start to the second half from WestConn, it was the Spartans taking over with great chances from Rylee Pepin, Alexis Billings and Bella Varisco, but as was the case most of the afternoon, the trio of shots either missed just wide or were denied by Donnelly.
 
Castleton kept the pressure on for the ensuing 20 minutes before Imetovski doubled her goal tally and put the Wolves up three with seven minutes left on the clock. Billings would create one more chance with two minutes to go, but her curling shot went wide of the net, resulting in the 3-0 loss.
 
The Spartans are back in action Wednesday, October 5 for a non-conference matchup against Gordon College, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m.