MANSFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore attack Zacharie Appolon (Stamford) knotted the first two goals of the afternoon for Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse on Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field as part of five consecutive goals to start the game for the Warriors (5-7, 3-2 LEC) in their 15-11 victory over Castleton University in a Little East Conference matchup.
 
Taking control against the Spartans (1-11, 1-3 LEC) and never looking back, Eastern quick jumped ahead on Appolon's two goals before junior attacker Shane Haggerty (Stamford) added one of his own and first-year attacker Tim Lichack (Clinton) netted two more, giving the Warriors five goals in the first 11 minutes and change.
 
Castleton's junior attack Dawson Nalette got the Spartans on the board with 2:21 remaining in the first but less than a minute later first-year attacker Quinn O'Connor (Glastonbury) responded with a goal of his own for Eastern, giving them a 7-1 lead after the opening frame.
 
In the first 15 minutes, the Warriors outshot Castleton 17-9 (12-3 in shots on goal) while forcing double the turnovers (10), winning 6-of-8 face offs, and holding a 17-6 edge in groundballs.
 

After O'Connor's second goal of the game, the Spartan offense made their first push back against a six-goal deficit when sophomore attacker Cam Frankenhoff and junior midfielder Chris LaBonte scored back-to-back goals for Castleton, cutting the Eastern lead to four, 7-3. Lichack and O'Conner responded accordingly to regain the six-goal lead for the Warriors and head into the break ahead 9-3.
 
Despite an evenly matched second quarter, Eastern held a 12-2 advantage on face offs and were a perfect 6-for-6 in the circle in the second quarter of play as part of 13 consecutive face offs won between the first and third quarters. Groundballs continued to go the Warrior's way, holding a 28-12 edge in that category.
 
Trailing 11-4 after a goal by first-year attacker Brycen Kennedy (Southington), the Spartans once again threatened with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Three consecutive goals from sophomore midfielder Casey Meczywor, Frankenhoff, and first-year attacker Colter McComas dwindled Eastern's lead down to four, 11-7, the smallest deficit of the game for Castleton.
 
Four of the next five goals scored came from the Warriors, starting with nine seconds left in the third with Kennedy's third goal of the afternoon to help Eastern regain their momentum and eventually take a 15-8 lead with 10:08 left.
 
Attempting a furious comeback in the final 10 minutes, the Spartans would net the last three goals of the game from first-year attacker Griffin Weller, McComas, and LaBonte before the Warriors held on for the 15-11 home victory.
 
First-year goalie Sam Davies (Newington) and junior goalie Nick Collazo (Park Ridge, NJ) each played one half with Davies (2-4) getting the start and his second win of the season in the contest. The first-year goalie made four saves on seven shot attempts while Collazo made seven second half saves on 15 attempts.
 
O'Connor, Lichack, and Appolon each recorded three goals while  Kennedy led the way for the Warriors with four. O'Connor and Appolon each added four assists and three assists respectively while Kennedy contributed one of his own.
 
Kennedy and O'Connor lead Eastern in scoring with 26 goals and 21 goals this season, respectively, while Appolon and Lichack share third place with 13 goals. In five Little East Conference games this season, Appolon has recorded nine goals.       
 
The Warriors finished the game with a 51-26 advantage on ground balls and won 23-of-30 faceoffs. Junior captain Domenic Scarano (Berlin) picked up a career-high 13 ground balls, first-year midfielder Cedrick Rene (Norwalk) adding four. Scarano also caused four turnovers. The faceoff margin -- which lifted the team season percentage to 46.8 -- was spearheaded by sophomore David Harrold (Southington), who won 14-of-20, and first-year Rick O'Neal (East Hartford) who won 9-of-10, with the one loss coming on an illegal procedure. The pair combined for 11 ground balls.
 
Eastern will travel on the road for a Little East Conference matchup on Wednesday night to take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The last time the Warriors squared off against the Buccaneers was on the road during the 2019 season before Mass. Maritime joined the conference in which they emerged with a 14-11 win.