WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team opened the 2023 season on Sunday afternoon, falling 14-5 to University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on the road.
 
Chris LaBonte, Xavier McKenna and Carter Frankenhoff had two points apiece in the contest, with LaBonte scoring twice and Frankenhoff and McKenna tallying a goal and an assist each. Ian Edgar added a goal of his own with Casey Meczywor and Sean Kimura dishing out assists. Christopher Dindino stopped 23 shots in goal in his Spartan debut.
 
USJ was led by a six-point night from Evan Baden by way of four goals and two helpers. Cam Fonseca had a hat trick and Nick Pestrichello and Freeman Johnson scored twice each. Trey McCann stopped eight shots in the win.
 
USJ outshot Castleton 56-25, including a 37-13 edge in shots on goal. The Spartans committed 26 turnovers to USJ's 17, while both teams were strong on the clear. Castleton went 18-of-19 on clears and the Blue Jays were 23-of-25. Both teams collected 20 ground balls. Castleton won 12-of-21 faceoffs thanks to Finn Miller's 12-of-20 day at the spot.
 
Castleton scored first on a man-up goal by LaBonte, but USJ scored the next five before Edgar netted his first goal as a Spartan late in the first quarter. The Blue Jays scored the only two goals of the second quarter to go into halftime leading 7-2.
 
LaBonte and McKenna scored in the third quarter for Castleton, but St. Joseph piled on four more third-quarter goals. A fourth-quarter score by Frankenhoff was the last of Castleton's tallies on the day, with USJ adding three more in the final 15 minutes to win 14-5.
 
Castleton is back on the turf Saturday, March 4, when it hosts SUNY-Delhi in the home opener at 4 p.m.