CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton field hockey team celebrated Senior Day at Dave Wolk Stadium on Saturday afternoon, culminating in an upset of LEC leader Southern Maine, 4-3.
The Spartans (7-5, 5-1 LEC) received a pair of scores from Emily Harris who slammed home the golden goal in the 65th minute. Senior Kaitlin Bardellini dealt the assist to Harris in overtime, adding another helper in regulation and scoring the penalty stroke goal with 18.8 seconds remaining to force overtime. Amelie Steinel came off the bench to put in the day's first goal, assisted by Peyton Richardson. Between the posts, freshman Zoe Martin denied 12 shots for an .800 save percentage. The loss was Southern Maine's (8-5, 6-1 LEC) first in league action.
The Huskies' offensive attack jumped into action upon the first whistle as 2021 LEC Co-Rookie of the Year Sage Drinkwater and Samantha Ellis fired shots before Ginny Twitchell collected the rock and struck for the game's first goal. Each squad settled into early rhythms to rotate fresh legs into the contest while Southern Maine's Julianna Kiklis and Martin knocked away scoring chances. From outside the circle, Richardson sent a long pass into the box and Steinel applied the touch from short range to tie it up after the opening 15.
Martin faced a barrage of shots off corners to begin the second quarter but none found net, then the Spartans flipped the field and took aim themselves to no avail. Southern Maine charged into the home half and drew a corner as Drinkwater scored with four minutes until the break, making it 2-1 Huskies. A late effort by the visitors nearly extended the lead but Haverhill, Mass. native Martin held steady to keep the margin at a single score.
After a Drinkwater shot and save, Harris broke away and fired three shots: one wide, one saved, and a final attempt from Bardellini that got past Kiklis to knot proceedings, 2-2. Castleton controlled possession and hammered the Husky goal, launching nine shots in two minutes but none scored. Kiklis collected her eighth and ninth saves of the third quarter before Abigail Chartier was found by Brooke Carson and buried a goal in the 43rd minute, retaking the lead as the contest entered the final period.
The Spartans and Huskies traded shots before a frustrated Harris was issued a yellow card in the 55th minute, then Castleton's Jess Smithson and Southern Maine's Twitchell were shown yellows with 2:50 to go. Continuing to penetrate the Husky defense despite a nine-on-ten power play, the Spartans drew a foul at the top of the cage for a penalty stroke. Bardellini took the shot as the ball hit nothing but net, tying the contest with 18.8 seconds on the clock and forcing overtime.
With Harris freed from the penalty box and each side playing with six, rather than the typical seven in overtime, both sides wasted little time getting deep into scoring territory. A blocked shot from Harris preceded corners and on-target shots by the Huskies but Martin continued to deny the visitors a score. Bardellini eventually broke away and dashed the full length of the field, passing it off to Harris who buried the golden goal to defeat Southern Maine, 4-3.
The Crondall, England native's game-winner marked her 50th career goal as Harris became the fifth Spartan to eclipse the milestone. Bardellini's game-winning assist moved the Northfield, N.H. senior into eighth place all-time, tied with Trishia Fellows and Haley Spittle.
The Spartans are back in action on Tuesday, October 11 against Worcester State at Dave Wolk Stadium. The match with the Lancers is scheduled for 7 p.m.
