Spartans Race Past Vikings

SALEM, MASS. – Castleton earned a 5-0 triumph over Salem State in Little East field hockey action on Friday evening at Alumni Field. Sara Wells (Bellows Falls, Vt.) scored three times and Loretta Blakeney (Barnard, Vt.) notched two goals as the Spartans improve to 9-2 on the year while remaining unbeaten in the LEC with a 7-0 record. The Vikings slide to 0-11 and 0-7 in conference.  

Castleton held a 10-3 advantage in shots in the first period, but struggled to find consistency on offense as Salem State was up the challenge, keeping the game scoreless for most of the first half. The Spartans finally broke through as Blakeney tipped a shot past goalie Kaitlyn O'Shea (Ledgewood, N.J.) in the 28^th minute.

The Spartans took a slim 1-0 margin into halftime as O'Shea stood firm in net making eight first period saves. Wells extended the lead to 2-0 in the 50^th minute as Castleton gained some breathing room over a determined Vikings' squad. The Spartans began to control possession over the final 10 minutes as Blakeney and Wells found the back of the net for a second time. Wells rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 65^th minute for Castleton.   

The Spartans outshot the Vikings 21-8 for the game and held a 7-5 edge in corners.

Tashia Pashby-Rockwood (Williston, Vt.) recorded three saves for the Spartans while O'Shea ended the game with 14 stops.