Senior Kyle Lutinski prepares to shoot during a March 30 nailbiter versus Salem State University.

It’s been an uphill battle for the Spartans. Since we last checked in, Castleton has played five games. In that span, the team has gone 1-4, blowing out Anna Maria 11-3, but falling to Plattsburgh, UMass-Dartmouth, Sage and most recently, Salem State. Their overall record now sits at an uninspiring 2-7. Yet, the Spartans remain undeterred.

“We’ve shown some flashes of high quality lacrosse this season,” said head coach Bo McDougall. “We’ve done some very good things as a team, against some very strong opponents. Unfortunately, we haven’t put those flashes together consistently enough throughout the course of the season to see results in the win column.”

At the halfway point of their season, the Spartans overall record may seem discouraging, but their conference record sits at a salvageable 0-2. With hope still alive, the Spartans are focusing on ways to improve their approach.

“We’ve really wanted to emphasize controlling the tempo of games,” McDougall said. “Despite our current record, we’ve been able to control the pace of play more often than not, and have found ourselves in tight games down the stretch as a result.”

McDougall has a point. The Spartans last three losses have been decided by just one goal. They fell to both UMass-Dartmouth and Sage 8-7 and 4-3 to Salem State.

The Spartans recent results are indicative of a competitive team that is just a step away from putting it all together.

“I think as a team we are really good at creating positive energy during games,” said senior attackman Tom Pardew. “We come out very strong each game. One of our issues I think is keeping that same energy consistent throughout the game. Our fundamentals combined with our team’s attitude need to be present throughout an entire game for us to be successful.”

Although the desired results have not been met, McDougall insists he’s pleased with the hard work his team has put in.

“The hardest thing as a coach is to see great effort go unrewarded at the end of a game,” he said. “Coming off our third straight one goal loss, I can say without a doubt that I’m proud of our efforts thus far.”

On a more positive note, senior midfield Jason Sedell notched his 100th career goal in the Spartans loss to Sage. He joined elite company as one of just eight players in program history to reach this milestone.

“It feels amazing to hit 100 goals,” Sedell said. “It’s a team game and I was just in the right spots at the right time. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my team and coaches’ help.”

The Spartans will return to action Wednesday, April 3 to take on UMass-Boston before entering a three-game stretch of conference matchups at home.

“While we haven’t had the results we’ve wanted in the past few weeks, there’s still a lot of lacrosse left to be played,” McDougall said.