After a successful season that ended in the team’s first post-season appearance
since the 1970s, the men’s lacrosse team is ready to make another run at the NAC title.The Spartans began their second season under head coach Dave Wiezalis on the road against a tough New England College
squad.

The season-opener between these two teams lived up to its expectations and came down to the wire.

New England took a 2-0 lead after the first period, but the Spartans didn’t back
down and got on the board in the second period. After goals from Steve Gerding, Stevan Geiger, Robbie Scanlon and Matt Varney, Castleton had a 4-3 lead in the third period.

But New England tied things up late in the third and scored the eventual game winner with three minutes left in the fourth and final period.

Spartan goalie Avram Feld stopped 10 shots in a 5-4 losing effort.

Following the heartbreaking loss, the Spartans played another non-conference
game against Curry College. Castleton held a 1-0 lead early in the game, but Curry
came on strong in the second period by scoring six goals.

The Spartans kept it close in the second half of the game, but it wasn’t enough and Curry came away with an 11-7 victory.
The Spartans were led by Adam Rosati’s three goal performance and two goals from Matt VanDerKar.

The Spartan men continued the close-but-no-win trend on the road against
Western Connecticut State. The 15-7 loss on Sunday drops their record to 0-3.

Women silencing doubters

While the men failed to live up to expectations thus far, the women’s lacrosse
team is silencing critics and looking like title contenders.

The Lady Spartans’ season debut took place on the road against New England
College. Picked to finish fifth in their conference pre-season poll, the team struggled throughout the game against an overpowering New England squad. Bailey Emilo, Katelyn Greene and Kate Coniglio each scored twice, but the Spartans lost 15-6.

But although they dropped the first of three games last week, things would change for the better as the weekend rolled along. They would next face Centenary College in New Jersey, and would come away with a nail-biting 11-10 win. Katelyn Greene led the offensive attack for the Lady Spartans with a game-high five goals. Nicole Bouchard and Bailey Emilo each scored a pair of goals.

Castleton would finish the stretch of this week’s games on Sunday against
Dominican College. The Lady Spartans dominated the opposition throughout the game
en route to a 24-1 victory.

Alex Fleck and Nicole Bouchard each had six goals and Bailey Emilo scored four goals with three assists. The win improves the Spartans’ record to 2-1, the team’s best start in four years.