Late goal lifts Spartans over Panthers 

            CASTLETON, Vt. – Senior Sarah Flore (Springfield, Vt.) scored to break a 4-4 tie with 30 seconds remaining Wednesday afternoon to propel Castleton State College to a 5-4 win over Plymouth State University in non-conference field hockey action at Spartan Stadium.

            With less than one minute to play, Castleton was awarded its 15th penalty corner of the contest on an obstruction call as Courtney Nolan (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) carried the ball inside the striking circle.  Nolan played the corner out directly to Flore who settled and fired a rocket past Plymouth State goalie Elyse Sedgley (Hopkinton, N.H.) for the eventual game-winner.

            Flore and Rachel Preuesser (Craryville, N.Y.) tallied two goals apiece for the winners, while Nolan finished with a goal and two assists.  Sophomore Olivia Colborn (Lancaster, N.H.) recorded two goals and an assist for PSU, while co-captains Lauren Bergeron (New Hampton, N.H.) and Kristina Conroy (Wakefield, Mass.) added one goal apiece.

            Plymouth State took control early on, scoring just 1:52 into the contest on Bergeron's first of the season. Colborn fed the ball directly into the center of the circle and Bergeron fired it past Castleton goalie Siobhan Whittermore (Springfield, Vt.).

            Flore unleashed a rocket towards the cage two minutes later that was turned away by starting goalie Hilary Lemelin (Milan, N.H.). Lemelin made another fantastic save, sprawling out into a full split to kick away Flore's next attempt six minutes later, but Preuesser pounced on the rebound and sent it home.  Preuesser scored again five minutes later off an assist from Flore to make it 2-1.

            A pair of goals from Conroy and Colborn gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead two minutes into the second half, but Flore and Nolan answered to give the Spartans the lead back once again with 14 minutes remaining. Flore's first was a mirror image of the game-winner, once again converting a Nolan penalty corner.

            Colborn knotted the game at 4-4 with 12:22 remaining, converting a beautifully set up penalty corner which resulted in assists for both Bergeron and Christina Parisi (Hampton, N.H.).

            Lemelin stopped seven shots before being lifted in favor of Sedgley with 24 minutes remaining.  Sedgley also made seven saves but was saddled with the loss.  Whittemore turned away three shots to earn her second win of the season.

            The Spartans will travel to Western New England College Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference match-up. Plymouth State hosts Salem State Saturday at noon in the Little East Conference opener.

(Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information)

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