CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton State College outscored Maine Maritime 4-1 during a decisive second period en route to a tightly contested 10-8 win in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's lacrosse action Sunday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

Trailing 4-2 after the opening 10 minutes of play, Castleton reeled off five-straight goals, including the first four of the second period, and took a 7-5 lead into halftime. Alex Green (Braintree, Vt.) had a pair of goals during the run, starting and finishing the second period scoring for the Spartans.

After Colin Murray (Oshawa, Ont.) gave Castleton an 8-5 lead just 31 seconds into the third period, the Mariners answered with three-straight scores to pull even at 8-8 just one minute into the fourth. Andrew DiSalvo (Glastonbury, Conn.) got things started with his second of the game, and Nicholas Betti (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) brought MMA even with two-straight.

Four minutes later Phil Patterson (Essex, Vt.) gave Castleton the lead for good, potting his 14th of the season on a great individual effort. Jake Krantz (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) tacked on an insurance marker inside the five-minute mark off an assist from Nohea King (St. Albans, Vt.) to give Castleton a bit of breathing room. The Mariners had a great chance to bring the game back to within one goal with over three minutes remaining, but Alex Brands (Woodstock, Vt.) came up with an incredible defensive play to knock down a two-on-one pass in his defensive third, corralled the ground ball and rifled a 40-yard pass across field to finish the clear. 

Alex Hermes (Fallsington, Pa.), DiSalvo, Betti each had two goals while Brian Corain (Berwick, Maine) led the way with two goals and an assist for the Mariner attack.

Green and Groot each had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Spartan charges.

Brands finished with two caused turnovers and two ground balls, while backfield mate Adam Farmer (South Burlington, Vt.) was a catalyst all day with seven ground balls and two caused turnovers. Castleton won 15-of-22 face-offs on the afternoon, all taken by Brad Barber (Napean, Ont.).

Hermes and Ian Larcom (Middletown, R.I.) led the Mariners with seven ground balls, while Larcom caused a game-high six turnovers.

Eric Horsfield (Tolland, Conn.) stopped 12 shots to earn the win, while Gavin Cote (Arundel, Maine) made eight saves in the loss.

Both teams return to action Wednesday at 7 pm with the Mariners hosting conference foe Husson, while Castleton will host SUNY-Cobleskill.

Maine Maritime (4-6, 4-2) vs. Castleton (7-7, 6-1)

SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot

Maine Maritime......  4  1  2  1 -  8

Castleton...........  3  4  1  2 - 10

Maine Maritime SCORING: GOALS: Brian Corain 2; Alex Hermes 2; Nicholas Betti 2; Andrew DiSalvo 2.

ASSISTS: Brian Corain 1; Bronson Guimond 1.

Castleton SCORING: GOALS: Alex Green 2; Aj Groot 2; Will Stuhler 1; Phil Patterson 1; Nohea King 1; Brian McCarthy 1; Colin Murray 1; Jake Krantz 1.

ASSISTS: Alex Green 1; Aj Groot 1; Nohea King 1; Phil Patterson 1; Will Stuhler 1.

GOALIES - MMA: Gavin Cote 4-4 (60:00 minutes, 18 shots-8 saves, 10 GA); CST: Eric Horsfield 5-5 (60:00, 20-12, 8).

SHOTS - Maine Maritime 32; Castleton 27.

SHOTS ON GOAL - Maine Maritime 20; Castleton 18.

Penalties - Maine Maritime 8/6:00; Castleton 2/1:30.

MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Maine Maritime 0-2; Castleton 2-8.

TURNOVERS - Maine Maritime 20; Castleton 27.

FACEOFFS - Maine Maritime 7-22; Castleton 15-22.

CLEARS - Maine Maritime 19-27; Castleton 20-24.

Maine Maritime GROUND BALLS 34: Alex Hermes 7; Ian Larcom 7; Bronson Guimond 4; Jason Smith 3; Nicholas Betti 2; Andrew DiSalvo 2; Tom Houle 2; A.J. Larrabee 2; Scot Baribeau 1; Gavin Cote 1; Ryan Geist 1; Alex Grant 1; Brady Harrison 1.

Castleton GROUND BALLS 39: Adam Farmer 7; Will Stuhler 6; Nohea King 5; Phil Patterson 5; Brad Barber 3; Alex Denny 3; Eric Horsfield 3; Alex Brands 2; Brian McCarthy 2; Alex Green 1; Jake Krantz 1; Colin Murray 1.

Maine Maritime TURNOVERS CAUSED 14: Ian Larcom 6; Jason Smith 3; Alex Grant 2; Nicholas Betti 1; Brian Corain 1; Brady Harrison 1.  Castleton TURNOVERS CAUSED 10: Alex Brands 2; Adam Farmer 2; Nohea King 2; Phil Patterson 2; Alex Denny 1; Colin Murray 1.

Start time: 12 pm     Finish time: 1:47 pm   Length of game: 1hr47min

Officials: Eric Evans; Stephen Salotti; Gunther Sihler.

A-286 T-1hr47min