Grace Johnson crosses in front of the Beaver's net scoring Castleton's 15th goal of the game, coming in the second half.
Sara Novenstern/Castleton Spartan

Senior Kate Auer competes against a Main Farmington player for a ball up in mid air.
Sara Novenstern/Castleton Spartan

The Castleton women’s lacrosse team opened up conference play with a dominating 17-4 win over the Main Farmington Beavers in their One Love game Saturday.

The lady Spartans scored early and often, netting team’s first goal roughly seven minutes in and they didn’t look back. Castleton stringed together nine straight goals before Maine Farmington could answer with their first.

It was clear which team was better. If Kate Auer wasn’t legging the ball down the field past every defender, Emilee Maher was playing lockdown defense similar to a shutdown corner in football.

In a game so lopsided, sometimes it can be difficult playing sound and being sharp with fundamentals, but for the Spartans that was the plan before the game even started.

“We wanted to focus on taking care of the ball, maintain ball possession, and just take our time,” said Maher.

When glancing at the score of Saturday’s game, one can get caught up in purely the offensive side of things, but the defense can’t be overlooked, including goaltender Meghan Els, who recorded nine saves on 17 shots and giving up just four goals.

The Beavers had many offensive rushes and potential scoring chances, but the defense of the Spartans, led by Maher, kept them subdued. Spartan defenders put relentless pressure on the ball handlers giving Maine Farmington little room to pass, make a move, or get settled into any kind of offensive game. The Spartans forced 13 turnovers as a result.

Looking back on a game like this, one Spartan said it’s really about the attention to detail and not getting caught up in how many goals they scored.

“I think the main takeaway message for a game like this is mental toughness,” senior, Mariah Lesure said. “It’s not so much about playing at a high level, it’s more about focusing on the little things like passing and catching, controlling the ball, faking to shoot and running through our plays.”

Nine different players scored for Castleton, highlighted by a six-goal performance from Brianna Mackay, who was like a shark in bloody water when she had the ball around the Beaver’s net.

Castleton improves to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Spartans have one more home game and a pair of road games this weekend to round out the month of March.

The team looks to continue its winning ways by adhering to the fundamentals, placing attention to detail, and playing loose and relaxed.

“We need to stay focused on our goals and continue doing the little things in order to achieve those goals, “ Lesure said. “But more importantly I think we need to remember to have fun and enjoy ourselves.”