Castleton, Vt. –  Castleton separated itself from one-goal first quarter lead to defeat Maine Maritime 13-7 in a North Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse semifinal contest Wednesday. The Spartans advanced to Saturday's championship game hosting New England College. Castleton improved to 14-3 while Maine Maritime ends its season at 6-9.

In the first quarter, the Spartans struggled to crack the zone defense of the Mariners, settling for just a 3-2 lead after the first frame. Spencer Hunt grabbed two goals for the Spartans in the quarter while Alex Green netted one. Trailing 3-0, Maine Maritime responded with a pair of goals from All-Conference First-Teamer Alex Hermes to cut the lead to 3-2 before the quarter ended.

In the second, Castleton its their lead with a third goal from Spencer Hunt just 44 seconds into the period. Davidson netted his first goal of the contest with 13:21 remaining in the half to put the Spartans up 5-2. Hermes notched his third goal of the game to cut the lead to two goals, but Castleton answered with two goals in the final 3:10 of the half to go into the break leading 7-3.

After the break, Castleton jumped on the Mariners, gaining a seven-goal advantage, its largest lead of the day. Sam Bailey started the scoring with a goal 3:31 into the frame, followed by goals by Davidson and Alex Denny just seven seconds apart to put the Spartans up 10-3 with 9:38 remaining in the period.

Maine Maritime went on a 3-0 run to finish the period, cutting the lead to 10-6. Bronson Guimond notched a goal at the 9:30 mark, and Nicholas Betti scored twice in the final three minutes.
The Spartans outscored the visitors 3-1 in the final frame to preserve their lead. Bailey, Green, and Davidson each notched goals, while Hermes scored his fourth goal of the game.

Peter Latulippe stopped 21 shots to earn the win and Erik Milles took the loss despite 13 saves.