RUTLAND, Vt. – The Castleton women's hockey team struggled to find its footing in the first round of the New England Hockey Conference playoffs Saturday, suffering a 5-0 defeat to No. 5 seed William Smith.

The Spartans (14-11-1) were granted five power play opportunities, but only manufactured five shots while allowing a short-handed goal. Kirsten DiCicco turned away 21 of the Herons' (12-12-1) 24 on-target attempts; William Smith struck twice with an empty net. Brooke Greenwood totaled 20 faceoff wins, the second-highest mark of her senior campaign. Seniors Kaitlin Bardellini and Katherine Campoli had multiple blocks, logging three and two respectively.

Following 22 scoreless minutes, the Spartans appeared to win a faceoff early in the second period after Lauren Legler sent the puck directly at Rainey Lay. But the freshman could not gain possession and Brianna Felice scooped it up, depositing the day's first goal. The Herons tacked on two more goals in the next six minutes, beginning with Elizabeth MacMurray's put-back of Mackenzie O'Neil's pipe-hitter immediately prior. A short-handed goal followed as Julianna Gong broke away with speed, firing a dart around DiCicco to extend the gap to three.

Effective defense by the Herons drastically slowed the game's pace as each team mustered just one shot on goal through the first half of the last period. Castleton called timeout with six minutes to go, leaving its net open to gain a skater on offense. William Smith's Kelly Howe slid in a goal 30 seconds later as Gong tallied her second score in the 16th minute.

As William Smith advances for a semifinal matchup at No. 1 seed Elmira, Castleton's season is complete at 14-11-1. Spartan Arena fans were treated to nine home victories, the most since 2013-14.