CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's lacrosse team slowed the Keene State offense for a majority of the first half, but Keene was able to crack the code, downing the Spartans 15-2 in Little East Conference action at Dave Wolk Stadium.
 
Castleton (1-11, 0-4 LEC) held the Owls (3-9, 2-2 LEC) to just three goals in the opening quarter, but Keene added five more in the second to begin to pull away. The Owls held a 34-6 edge in shots on goal, a 36-16 edge in ground balls and 12-7 edge in draw controls. Castleton was 16-of-36 on the clear, while Keene was 17-of-21.
 
Kimberly McCarthy scored both Spartan goals, while Raven Payne tied a career-high save total for the second time this season. Payne finished the night with 19 stops in addition to two caused turnovers. McCarthy had four ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers. Tien Connor had an assist for Castleton, while Lacey Greenamyre added three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
 
Haile Ratajack racked up eight goals and an assist, while Hannah Dworkin assisted on seven goals—all from the stick of Ratajack. Chase Gengras had two goals and an assist for a three-point night. Ratajack also had seven ground balls and eight caused turnovers, followed by Mindy St. Marie with five caused turnovers and four ground balls. Haley Terva made four saves in the win in goal.
 
Keene State tallied the first 11 goals of the contest before McCarthy scored with the Spartans on a player advantage. The Owls tacked on four more goals to stretch the lead to 15-1 before Connor found a driving McCarthy for the Spartans' second goal of the night to make it a 15-2 contest.
 
Castleton is back in action for its final home game of the season Saturday at 1 p.m. against Rhode Island College.