CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team fell behind in the first quarter and was unable to make up the deficit, falling to Utica on Saturday in non-conference action, 14-6.
The Spartans (0-5) and Pioneers (3-2) were deadlocked at 1-1 for a majority of the opening period, but three late goals by Utica to end the frame gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish. The Pioneers outshot Castleton 54-35 in the game, including a 31-19 margin on goal. The Pioneers also cashed in on two man-up opportunities while Castleton was 0-for-4 with the advantage. Utica held a 44-23 edge in ground balls and 17-7 edge in face-off wins.
The Spartans received two points apiece from
Dawson Nalette,
Connor Rider and
Chris LaBonte, with Rider and LaBonte netting two goals each. Nalette had a goal and an assist in the game.
Hunter Sarro also found the back of the net for Castleton while
Sean Kimura and
Michael Dean added assists. Kimura and
Ryan Palmisano collected three ground balls each to lead the team, while Palmisano also won 6-of-12 face-offs.
Chris Wilk tallied 17 saves in goal, the second-highest single-game total of his career.
Sam Serrano racked up seven points on two goals and five assists, while John Avery scored four times with one assist. Gage Fiacco had two goals and a helper, while John Spoto scored twice. Josh Bennett and Jack Hogan had six ground balls each and combined to win 17 face-offs for the Pioneers. Kevin Parisi caused three turnovers and scored a goal in the contest. Jon Goodspeed played the first 52 minutes of the game, making 12 saves and earning the win while allowing five goals.
Utica struck first in the contest when Avery scored less than two minutes into play, but Castleton answered two minutes later when LaBonte finished a pass from Nalette to level the score at 1-1. That mark remained the same for more than nine minutes before Utica rattled off three goals in a two-minute span to end the quarter with a 4-1 lead.
The lead grew to 5-1, but LaBonte again found the back of the goal to make it 5-2 with 11:01 remaining in the second. Immediately after LaBonte's goal, the game went into a 30-minute weather delay before resuming again. The Pioneers scored a man-up goal to make it 6-2, but Sarro kept Castleton in the game at 6-3 with his sixth score of the season. The Pioneers went on a run from there, scoring three more times before halftime to go into the break up 9-3.
The run continued into the second half, as Utica made it seven straight goals and a 13-3 lead with 1:22 to play in the third quarter. Rider broke the drought for Castleton with his second goal of the year with 1:11 to play in the third, sending the game to the final frame with Castleton trailing 13-4.
The Pioneers tacked on their final goal just over two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Nalette responded with a goal of his own just over one minute later to make it 14-5. Both sides went scoreless for the next seven minutes before Rider tallied his second goal of the game to make it 14-6—a score that stood through the final horn.
Castleton concludes its four-game homestand on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts Russell Sage College at Dave Wolk Stadium.
