CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton women's soccer team hosted UMass Boston in a battle for the third-seed Saturday afternoon, falling 1-0 to the Beacons in front of the home crowd. The Spartans honored their five graduating seniors, Alex Benfatti, Ashlee Meczywor, Bella Varisco, Jamie Ledoux, and Devyn Beliveau-Gale prior to the contest.
 
Castleton (7-10-1, 4-3-1 LEC) found themselves down early after a score just four minutes into the game from the Beacons put UMass Boston (8-8-2, 5-3-0 LEC) ahead 1-0. The Spartans immediately went on the offensive hoping for a response, rattling off four shots and two corners in the next 12 minutes, but were unable to get any chances on frame.

Both sides saw themselves with opportunities to score in the final eight minutes of the half, but Castleton's Becky Hannwacker and UMass Boston's Dani Anderson each saw their shots saved, ending the first half with the Spartans still trailing by one.
 
Hungry for an equalizer, Castleton outshot UMass Boston 12-3 in the second period including a 4-2 advantage in shots on net. Holly Cudmore, Rylee Pepin and Varisco — who paced the team with seven shots on the afternoon — all put shots on goal but were unable to get anything past the Beacons' Maria Spylios.
 
The Spartans held a 19-8 lead in shots and 8-6 advantage in corners at the final whistle, but the early goal was the difference in a close 1-0 loss for the Spartans.
 
Despite the result, Castleton still secured a top-four seed in the upcoming LEC Playoffs for the second straight year, and will host Eastern Connecticut in the opening round Tuesday, November 1, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.