Women's Soccer falls to Castleton 1-0 in non league play

Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information

CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season on Wednesday afternoon, defeating MCLA by a final score of 1-0 at Spartan Stadium.

Castleton moves to 1-3-2 on the season, while MCLA falls to 1-2-1 after the loss.

A 78th minute goal by Eva Clark made all the difference in the contest, as it stood up as the game's only goal.Jessica Binkowski made two saves in her second shutout of the season.

MCLA's Megan Richardson made nine saves in goal, while Natalie Caney had both shots on goal for the Trailblazers.

Castleton had the best look of the opening frame, as Izzy Hutnak fielded a pass from Clark and took it in on goal. She let go a shot, but a diving save by Richardson kept the contest scoreless into the halftime break.

Just 20 seconds in the second half, Kiley Baran sprang Marissa Benson on the second good look for the Spartans. Benson beat the last MCLA defender, but Richardson once again came up with a big diving save to preserve the 0-0 score.

In the 59th minute, Caney had the best look of the game for the Trailblazers, as she pushed past the last line of Spartan defense and pulled the trigger on a left-footed shot, but it curved just outside the right post out of harm's way.

With time winding down in the contest, Clark and the Spartans moved the ball deep into MCLA territory. The senior put on the brakes just outside the box to get the ball to her left foot before unleashing a turnaround shot that found the top-left corner of the net to give Castleton the first lead of the game—a tally that would hold until the final whistle.

Castleton outshot MCLA 19-5 overall, and 10-2 on goal. The Spartans held a slight, 3-2 edge in corner kicks, and recorded eight fouls to MCLA's five.