GORHAM, Maine – Cam Frankenhoff scored with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter to break a 10-10 tie and give the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans an 11-10 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies on Saturday afternoon in Little East Conference men's lacrosse action. The Huskies had battled back to tie the game twice in fourth quarter before Frankenhoff's strike gave the Spartans the late lead. The Frankenhoff brothers of Cam and Carter combined for five goals in the game with Cam scoring twice and Carter recording a hat trick. Hunter Sarro led Castleton in points with four from two goals and two assists.
 
The Huskies celebrated Senior Day prior to the game and fittingly, it was the seniors who led the way for Southern Maine. Nick James (Portland, Maine/Deering) scored five goals and assisted on two more. Schuyler Wetmore (Cumberland Center, Maine/Greely) distributed four assists. Omar Contreras (Portland, Maine/Deering) had a goal and an assist and Cayden Poisson-Bragdon (Lewison, Maine) went 5-for-5 on faceoffs with three ground balls. Senior Ryan Illig (West Newfield, Maine/Shady Nook Academy) was also honored.
 
 
The Records:
VTSU Castleton: 3-10 (2-3 LEC)
Southern Maine: 5-9 (2-2 LEC)
 
Series History:
Today was the 10th meeting between the two teams. Castleton leads the series 8-2.
 
The Goaltenders:
VTSU Castleton: Chase Strychaluk (2-2), 60:00, 10 goals allowed, 16 saves
Southern Maine: Addison Dietz (4-7), 60:00, 11 goals allowed, 12 saves
 
How It Happened:

• James put the Huskies ahead 2-0 with a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of the game before the Spartans got on the scoreboard with a goal by Casey Meczywor. Castleton goalie Strychaluk made seven saves in the quarter to limit the damage done by Southern Maine.
• Jordan Damske tied the game at 2-2 2:45 into the second quarter with a goal but freshman Owen Gaulrapp (Windham, Maine) reclaimed the lead for the Huskies with a goal and Contreras extended the lead to 4-2 shortly after.
• Castleton cut the lead to 4-3 with 2:43 left in the half thanks to an Ethan Esposito goal that Sarro assisted on. Sarro then tied the game with 1:07 left in the half with a goal of his own.
• Junior Aman Zunser (Lyman, Maine/ Massabesic) put the Huskies ahead 5-4 in the opening minutes of the third quarter before the Spartans ended the stanza on a 5-0 run. Three of the goals came from the Frankenhoff brothers with Carter scoring the first two and Cam netting the final one of the quarter. Sarro and Preston Kozlowski took turns scoring and assisting on the third and fourth goals for Castleton.
• The Huskies dug deep to start the fourth quarter and scored twice in the first two minutes. James and Zunser had the goals with assists from Contreras and Wetmore. The Huskies then got within a goal thanks to a man-up score by freshman Patrick O'Driscoll (Biddeford, Maine) and the duo of James and Wetmore completed the 4-0 run with goal to even the score at 9-9. Castleton pulled back ahead with Carter Frankenhoff's hat trick goal, but the lead only lasted for 1:07 as Wetmore once again set up James for the game-tying goal with 6:21 left on the clock.
• With just under two minutes left in regulation Cam Frankenhoff was able to work around a Husky defender and fired a shot that snuck between Dietz and the left post to give the Spartans an 11-10 lead.
• The Huskies were awarded possession due a Castleton penalty after the goal and had a good look, but James' shot hit the side of the net with 1:16 left. Castleton's goalie then overthrew his teammate and Zunser picked up the ground ball to give the Huskies another attacking opportunity. Another shot by James was off target and the Huskies called a timeout to set up their offense for another try with just 28 seconds left in the game. The Castleton defense rose to the occasion as Jonah Janaro and Cam Frankenhoff clamped down on James and forced a turnover to close out the game.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Castleton had a slight 12-11 lead in faceoffs wins with Bryce Fontaine taking every draw for the Spartans. Poisson-Bragdon led the Huskies while O'Driscoll served as a faceoff man for the first time in his career and went 2-for-3.
• David Truax and freshman Iyah Lavit (Hancock, Vt./ Harwood Union) each had three caused turnovers to lead their teams. James also caused two turnovers and had five ground balls.
• Both goaltenders led their teams in ground balls. Strychaluk had seven for Castleton and a pair of caused turnovers after intercepting passes in the crease. Dietz had six for the Huskies.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies will continue conference play on Wednesday at 4:00 pm against UMass Boston at home.