Field Hockey undefeated in the NAC

The field hockey team remains undefeated in the North Atlantic Conference as the Spartans defeated the University of Maine at Farmington 4-2 on Oct.15 at Prescott Field.

Rachel Preusser kicked things off for the Spartans, scoring 6:41 into the contest. At the 20-minute mark Pinkham converted a Mercedes Maltbie assist to give Castleton the 2-0 lead.

 Lily Barry answered for Farmington with five minutes remaining in the first half, scoring off a penalty corner from Kaitlin Bullen, making it 2-1 at the intermission.

 In the second half, Castleton came out strong. Just four minutes into the half Kealy Chipman scored off a long pass from Caitlin Briggs. Shortly after, Pinkham knocked in an insurance tally, converting on a Presseur penalty corner to push the lead to 4-1. 

 With four minutes left in regulation, Chelsea Morley knocked in her first collegiate goal to make it 4-2, but it wasn’t enough for the Beavers. 

  Farmington held a shot advantage on the Spartans at 15-8 and a 15-12 edge in penalty corners. Bridget Dusha made seven saves, and Curran Brierley made four saves in the loss.   

The Spartans continued their winning streak Sunday, defeating Thomas 3-2 in overtime. The Spartans were trailing 2-0 at one point in the contest, but they came back for the win.

“We are really excited,” said head coach Tammy Landon when referring to the back-to-back wins. “We stuck with it. These are two big wins for us,” she said.

Landon also mentioned how impressive it was for her team to win both games because each match was played on grass, whereas Castleton is used to playing on turf.

With the season winding down, the Spartans will face their arch rivals St. Joseph’s this weekend, the only other undefeated team in the conference, but Castleton has to get through Simmons College first.

“They [Simmons] are a much stronger team then their record indicates,” Landon said. “We are focusing on one conference game at a time.”

 Castleton improves to 8-7, while remaining a perfect 6-0 in the NAC. The Spartans will travel to Simmons on Oct. 19 and will host St. Joseph’s on Saturday, Oct. 22.

 

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