Fitchburg State Falls Short At Castleton State, 12-11

Brown posts 14 stops in Falcons NEWLA thriller

CASTLETON, Vt. (April 8, 2010) – The Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team put forth a valiant effort at Spartan Stadium, falling only one goal shy from topping conference leader Castleton State College in NEWLA action this evening.

Castleton State raced out to a commanding 10-5 lead at halftime and staved off a furious Falcon comeback attempt as the Spartans posted their seventh victory of the season with a 12-11 win over Fitchburg State. Stephanie Pearce’s (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham) eight-meter free-position goal with 9:01 remaining in the contest, put the Spartans up 12-8, and proved to be the game-winner as Fitchburg State scored three unanswered goals to close out the game.

Junior Kaitlyn Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) scored twice in the Falcon flurry with the second marker coming on a free-position shot, while sophomore Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) scored her third goal of the game with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Pearce and Marie VanDerKar (Manchester, Vt./Manchester) scored three goals to pace Castleton State, while Nicole Adams (Rutland, Vt./Rutland) added two goals and two assists. Senior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) registered a game-high four goals to lead the Fitchburg State offense, while Burns added a trio of markers and Kelley finished with a pair.  

Castleton State was seemingly in control heading into the break, scoring the last three goals of the first half to take the five-goal lead at halftime. In the second half, Fitchburg State marched back, outscoring the Spartans 6-1 over the final 16:08 of the period. Burns and Kelley led the Falcons drive with two goals apiece, while freshman Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) tallied nine of her 14 saves in the period. Counterpart Lily Derbyshire (Little Compton, R.I./Little Compton) stopped 12 shots in net for Castleton to earn the complete game victory. .

Fitchburg State (5-5, 1-2 NEWLA) is back in action next Thursday as it travels to UMass Dartmouth at 4 p.m. Castleton State (7-3, 3-0 NEWLA) will travel to Westfield State College on Saturday at 4 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Castleton State 12, Fitchburg State 11