Castleton State First-Half Surge Proves Decisive, Downs USM 22-15

            GORHAM, Maine -- The Castleton State College women's lacrosse team scored eight unanswered goals to close the first half and went on to defeat the University of Southern Maine, 22-15, in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

            The win was the fourth straight for the Spartans and improved their overall record to 5-2.  The Huskies dropped their second straight to fall to 1-7 overall.

            With the game tied 6-6, the Spartans scored eight times over the final 12 minutes of the opening half to take a comfortable 14-6 lead into the intermission.  Senior Kate Auer (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) ignited the run of Spartan goals at 11:44, and classmate Maddy DaCosta (New Bedford, Mass./Bishop Stang) scored four times before halftime.

            The Huskies made one surge midway through the second half to close the gap to five.  Down by nine (18-9), the Huskies scored four straight goals.  Sophomore Sam Campobasso (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) scored the first three goals, and junior Shauna Robert (Lyman, Maine/Massabesic) added the fourth to pull the Huskies within hailing distance at 18-13 midway in the half.

            Auer broke the Huskies momentum with a goal just 31 seconds after Robert's marker.  The teams traded goals over the final 15 minutes with the Spartans working to take time off the clock every time they had possession.

            Auer had a huge game for the Spartans scoring seven goals and passing out one assist for a game-high eight points.  She also dominated the center circle corralling 13 draw controls.  DaCosta finished with five goals and one assist.  Sophomore Grace Johnson (South Burlington, Vt.), senior Mariah Lesure (Brattleboro, Vt.) and junior Brandi Whittemore (Middlebury, Vt.) scored three goals apiece.

            Junior goalie Rachel Bombardier (Pittsford, Vt./St. Paul's School) stopped 11 shots in her first appearance of the season to get the win.

            Campobasso and junior Anh Nguyen (South Portland, Maine) paced the Huskies attack with four goals apiece.  Junior Sarah Pelligrinelli (Southington, Conn.) had three goals and an assist.  Junior goalie Caley Presby (Portland, Maine/Deering) stopped a season-high 20 shots.

            Castleton piled up a 49-27 advantage in shots, and, paced by Auer, a 23-16 edge in draw controls.  Both teams were successful on 12 of 16 clear attempts.

            Southern Maine will host Maine Maritime Academy for its next game on Thursday (4:00 p.m.).  Castleton State will travel to Colby-Sawyer College on Wednesday (4:00 p.m.). 

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