WENHAM, Mass.—Jessica Castelline's (Concord, Mass.) four-goal first half helped Gordon build up a big lead it would never relinquish to earn the Fighting Scots their first win of 2016. The Scots led by as many as five in the first half and held on to best Salem State 12-5 at the Brigham Athletic Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The win helps break a five-game losing streak to begin the season and Gordon hopes to carry some momentum when they open up Commonwealth Coast Conference play next week at Endicott. Salem State drops to 1-2 on the season and travels to Mount Ida on Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
 
Castelline scored the first goal of the game in the third minute off a nice give-and-go play with classmate Bailey Grinnell (S. Hamilton, Mass.). Nine minutes went by before either team would put another tally on the board when Castelline made it 2-0 with an unassisted strike on a pickup off an initial save by Jenn Toussaint (Reading, Mass.).
 
Gordon's senior midfielder stayed involved in each of the next two goals, assisting Olivia McCarrick's (Millersville, Md.) 12^th score of the season for a 3-0 lead. Castelline completed her first-half hat trick just a minute later with McCarrick returning the favor on the feed.
 
McCarrick made it 5-0 with 11:09 on the scoreboard in the first half to give the Scots their largest lead of the season to that point.
 
The Vikings offense began to find their stride in the final eight minutes of the opening period, as Erin Riley (Wakefield, Mass.) ended the scoreless stretch after receiving a nice entry pass by Kristina Conlon (Dracut, Mass.).
 
Gordon was able to put a goal right back on the board just 40 seconds later when Castelline converted a free-position attempt for her 18^th score of the season. Salem's Courtney Smith (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Gordon's Hannah Bourk (Barrington, R.I.) traded goals to make it a 7-2 game entering the final stretch of the first half.
 
A yellow card on Gordon right at the end of the half allowed the Vikings to cut it to a 7-3 game when Smith converted a free-position attempt on the power play.
 
Gordon scored the first three goals of the second half, including Cassidy Allen's (Rensselaer, N.Y.) first career shot in the net, to open a 10-3 advantage.
 
Salem was able to put two goals on the board in the second half, but Gordon was able to hold its offense at bay for the majority. Jackie Kiernan (Lexington, Mass.) made nine saves in 54 minutes, while only allowing four goals to earn her first win of the year. Toussaint made 16 saves despite suffering the loss.
 
Quick Stats

• Gordon had a season-high 28 shots on goal on 33 total attempts.
• Both teams struggled with turnovers, combining for 50 in total.
• Castelline finished one point shy of her single-game points best of the season, contributing four goals and three assists on just seven shots.
• Castelline's big day puts her fourth overall in career points with 244, passing Kaite Knaus '10. She is also one shy of Knaus in career goals with 161.