Castleton, VT --- Castleton State sophomore Grace Johnson (S. Burlington, VT) and senior Maddie DeCosta (New Bedford, MA) both finished with hat-tricks as they helped pace the Spartans to an 11-7 triumph over Worcester State in non-conference women's lacrosse action at Spartan Stadium this evening.
With the victory, Castleton improves to 9-2 overall while the Lancers fall to 7-3 in the setback.
Other standouts for the Spartans included senior Kate Auer (S. Glens Falls, NY) who registered a game-best five draws with three ground balls while junior Brianna McKay (Randolph, VT) finished with a trio of ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Junior net minder Rachel Bombadier (Pittsford, VT) was a force, recording 14 stops on net for the hosts.
Senior Jackie Lawlor (Westford, MA) and junior Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) paced the Blue and Gold offensively with two goals each. Chase had a game-best six grounders and she recorded three caused turnovers.
Junior Katelyn Murphy (Billerica, MA) notched five ground balls and classmate Mackenzie Callini (W. Springfield, MA) had a trifecta of caused turnovers.
After Chase notched the first score of the contest at the 21:14 mark, Castleton State rattled off the next five goals over a span of 12 minutes to take over the 5-1 advantage. Johnson netted the last three in the run for the Spartans.
Chase helped the Lancers respond by potting a free possession tally around the three minute mark before Connors added her 20th goal of the campaign with 28 ticks remaining for the 5-3 score at the intermission.
Castleton State, however, used a 6-2 second-half spurt to build up an 11-5 edge as 18:22 remained in regulation. Johnson had two helpers and junior Brandi Whittenmore (Middlebury, VT) had two tallies in the outburst.
Junior Alaina Martin (E. Longmeadow, MA) and Lawlor did score for the Blue and Gold in an attempt to start a rally, but the Spartans played stingy defense and did not allow another goal in the final nine minutes of regulation.
Sophomore Lea Robichaud (Holden, MA) turned aside 12 shots in the setback for WSU. Robichaud's record fell to 7-2 in the setback while Bombadier moved to 3-0 overall.
A key statistic of the contest was draws as Castleton held a 13-7 lead in the category. The hosts also cleared 15 of their 22 attempts overall in the game.
Worcester State did lead in shots (29-28) and caused turnovers (17-11), but struggled to move the ball past the offensive restraining line (14-for-26 on clears). Ground balls were even at 26-26.
Both squads will play again at home on Thursday evening 7 PM. The Lancers hosts Rhode Island College in a non-league clash while the Spartans entertain Green Mountain in an North Atlantic Conference affair.
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