Box Score CASTLETON, Vt. – With the Eastern Connecticut State University and Castleton State College men's soccer team each voted as the favorites to win their respective conference championships in the pre season, the margin of victory or defeat figured to be small Friday when the teams squared off in the 2014 openers.
It was.
Three-time defending Little East Conference champion Eastern got a goal on a header in the 14th minute from freshman midfielder Adam Traxler (Newburyport, MA) and All-LEC goalkeeper Greg Walton (Brunswick, ME) needed only two saves to make it stand up in the Warriors' 1-0 non-conference victory over the Spartans, the top-rated team in the North Atlantic Conference pre-season poll.
At right:Nicholas Warren
In the first meeting between the programs since 1984 – and only the second regular-season clash ever – Eastern had twice as many shots as Castleton and forced Castleton sophomore keeper Dan Palker to make ten saves, but the Spartans collected nine of the 12 corner kicks in the game, all nine coming in the second half.
Six of Eastern's ten starting field players were in their first season at Eastern, three of them freshmen.
Leading 1-0 at halftime, the Warriors had opportunities to expand the lead in the second half, but had one ball cleared off the line and later had a penalty kick saved.
The Warriors kicked off the game by attacking the Castleton defense quickly and often. In the third minute, they had their first real chance of the game when a defensive lapse allowed first-year sophomore Tyler Jones (Vernon) to break free with the ball. All he had was the keeper between him and the net, but Palker forced a shot that went wide.
Just ten minutes later Eastern struck home off of a corner to give the team a 1-0 lead. First-year sophomore forward Konnor Scarponi (Brunswick, ME) struck sophomore midfielder Nicholas Warren's (Southbury) corner first, heading the ball to Traxler, who then headed it past Palker for his first career collegiate goal. The point was the first at Eastern for Scarponi, who had two goals (both game-winners) and an assist as a freshman last year at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
In the 31st minute, Traxler nearly doubled his goal tally as Castleton's Paul Phillips cleared his header off the goal for a defensive save. The Warriors continued to attack for the remainder of the first forty-five minutes, but were unable to add to their lead thanks to four saves from Palker.
Castleton was finally able to get some momentum going forward in the second half. In the 51st, the Spartans received their first two corners of the game. The second corner, sent in by senior Bryce Kaler resulted in a shot by senior Dameon Young that missed wide.
The Warriors quickly counter-attacked, creating numbers in their favor. The quick counter resulted in a penalty as an Eastern player was brought down in the box. Palker was issued a yellow card for the offense in his first career start, but the goalie made a diving stop of the PK to keep it a one-goal match.
Eastern continued its attacking display throughout the remainder of the match, ultimately leading to five second-half saves by Palker, who had nine total for the game.
In the final fifteen minutes of regulation, Castleton's offense picked up, as it was able to gain momentum. The Spartans closest scoring chance of the game happened in the 78th minute when junior Jake Tiegens forced Walton to make one of his two saves of the game. The shutout was the eighth in 21 career starts for Eastern's keeper.
Eastern opens at home Tuesday against Wesleyan University at 4:30 p.m. at Thomas Nevers Field.
