NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Castleton men's soccer team hit the road to face off against Colby-Sawyer Sunday afternoon, capitalizing on a late goal from sophomore Toby Ritzkowski to claim the 2-1 win, their first of the season.
 
The Spartans (1-2-1) took early control of Sunday's contest, finding their first goal just nine minutes into the half. Jacob Henderson sent a long ball to Stanley Andersen, who fought to earn a throw-in at the corner of the field. Off the restart, the ball found its way back to Henderson on the goal line, who sent a quick ball to classmate Seth Dube just outside the six-yard box. The freshman showed his composure, rifling a one-timer into the back of the net to give Castleton the lead and tally his first career goal.
 
The Spartans did well to keep the pressure on, racking up four corners over the next 12 minutes, but on their first chance of the afternoon it was the Chargers' (1-3-1, 0-1 GNAC) Callum Buchanan finding the equalizer on a shot that snuck under Jonathan Maul.
 
The sides traded shots for the remainder of the half — Maul made all three of his saves in the remaining 20 minutes of action — but neither could convert, meaning they entered the first break knotted at one.
 
Castleton took over in the second half, outshooting Colby-Sawyer 11-2 in shots, including a 6-1 advantage in shots on target, but seemed unable to get anything past the Chargers' Yener Bartolon. Finally, with just under 10 minutes to go, Henderson sent a pass to Ritzkowski just outside the 18. The sophomore took his man one-on-one and beat him easily before sending a rocket toward the net and into the bottom corner for the goal.
 
Colby-Sawyer created one more chance, but the Spartans defense held tough, maintain their one-goal lead until the final whistle blew for Castleton's first win of the season.
 
The Spartans will look to carry this momentum into their next game, as they kick off conference-play with a matchup against Southern Maine Saturday, September 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.