Spartans draw 1-1 with Terriers
Just when the Thomas Terriers were going to walk out of Spartan Stadium with the win on Saturday afternoon, in similar fashion to how the season ended for Castleton last year, in defeat, leading scorer Spencer Dandurand, wasn’t going to let that happen if he had anything to do about it.
Instead of losing 1 to nil, Bryce Kaler had other ideas when he was able to deliver a strike to Dandurand who would eventually sink the ball in the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
The game was very intense right from the get-go and the Spartan goalie Dan Palker would be tested early, but managed to make a few nice saves to keep the Terriers in check.
After the break, Thomas would immediately get on the scoreboard thanks to a crisp pass from Dakota Duplisse to London Steede-Jackson just four minutes into the second half that would put the (4-2-1) Terriers ahead.
The Spartans nearly answered right back with a goal of their own from Dandurand, but instead the ball was cleared by Thomas. And in the 62nd minute, the Spartans would Gin try to answer but only to be denied yet again.
Finally just nine minutes later (2-4-1) Castleton would finally get the break they needed when Bryce Kaler set up Dandurand who would score his fifth goal of the year to tie the game 1-1.
“I saw Dameon (Young) checking in with space and Spencer running behind him toward the goal and I knew it would be a great opportunity on goal for us,” Kaler said.
The game would continue to be competitive during the two overtime periods but both teams’ ball pressure defense was too much to handle.
Thomas Terriers would find themselves leaving with a 1-1 draw, which puts them at (4-2-1) and Castleton at (2-4-1).
The Spartans are all too familiar with Thomas, a team in which they defeated during last year’s regular season but failed to beat in the post season at Spartan Stadium last fall.
Castleton will look to learn from this 1-1 draw that they can take with them into Sunday’s game.