WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Castleton men's soccer team took on Westfield State in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night, giving up two second-half goals in the road loss.
 
The Spartans (3-3-2, 1-0-1 LEC) were outshot 33-19 in the contest including a 17-5 difference in shots on goal, but senior Andres Soto-Burgos tallied a career-best 14 saves in net— the most by a Castleton goalie in nearly 20 years — to keep the game close before the Owls (1-6-3, 0-1-1 MASCAC) ultimately broke open the scoring in the second half.
 
Castleton controlled the opening 10 minutes of the game, racking up two corners and three shots — including a Charlie Cisneros header that was denied by the post — before Westfield State settled into their offense. After the initial push from the Spartans, the Owls took a 15-3 shot advantage over the next 35 minutes, but several key denials from Soto-Burgos meant the game remained tied entering the first break.
 
The sides traded opportunities to start the second half before Westfield State scored a pair of goals in the 55^th and 60^th minutes to jump into the lead.
 
With time winding down the Spartans created a trio of opportunities, but shots from Jacob Barth, Quentin Hopwood and Adolphe Alfani failed to find the back of the net, resulting in the 2-0 loss at the final whistle, the team's first shutout loss since September 7 despite getting off their third highest shot total of the season.
 
Next up for Castleton is a trip to Connecticut for an LEC matchup with WestConn Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.