WESTFIELD, Mass. – Castleton State scored two second half goals in a three minute span to lift the Spartans to a 3-1 Little East field hockey win over Westfield State at Alumni Field on Wednesday night.
The two teams were tied 1-1 after Castleton got a first-half marker from Cyndey Jeffery (Burr and Burton/Manchester, Vt.), and Westfield responded in the 52nd minute of play as Brittany Bowes (Leicester, Mass.) won the battle for a pass from Spartans goalkeeper Tashia Pashby-Rockwood (CVU/Williston, Vt.), and poked the loose ball into the net.
The Spartans regained the lead for good just 1:25 later, a Gabriella Hunt (Granville, N.Y.) fired a ball from the top right of the circle to Loretta Blakeney (Woodstock/Barnard, Vt.) at the back post, who tipped it in for a 2-1 lead. Castleton added an insurance goal less than three minutes later as Hunt redirected a pass across the goal mouth to Allison Lowell (Otter Valley/Brandon, Vt.) , who fired to the back board for a 3-1 lead.
Castleton dominated statistically with an 18-8 advantage in total shots and an 11-3 margin in penalty corners.
Westfield got 10 saves from sophomore goalkeeper Katie Vamosi (Oliver Ames/ Easton, Mass.) while Rockwood needed just two saves for the Spartans.
League-leading Castleton improved to 12-2 overall and 10-0 in the Little East, while Westfield, battling for a playoff spot in the conference, dips to 6-10 and 4-6 in the LEC.
Westfield State will be back at home on Saturday, October 20 with a 7:00 p.m. start. (Please not schedule change, as this game was originally slated for Friday, October 19, but will be played on Saturday, October 20.)