CASTLETON, Vt. - Johnson State men's lacrosse was defeated on Saturday in their North Atlantic Conference (NAC) season-opener by host Castleton State by the count of 20-3.  The Badgers now stand at 0-2, 0-1 NAC while Castleton picked up their first win of the season to improve to 1-4 overall and 1-0 in the NAC. 

Johnson received their two of their three scores from senior Alex Petti (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) while the third came from freshman Nash Garceau (North Haven, Conn./North Haven).  Zach Jerome (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) made 11 saves for Johnson in goal.

Castleton saw Zach Davidson score five goals and deal out three assists to lead their offensive attack while A.J. Groot, Cam Ormiston, and Evan Tucker each recorded three goals.  Eric Horsfield and Tom Manley combined to make seven saves to help key the win.

The Spartans rolled out to a 10-0 lead before Garceau scored his goal just before halftime.  Castleton held a 22-7 shot advantage and a 36-14 groundball edge over the first 20 minutes.

The hosts were able to outscore the Badgers 8-1 in the third period to help secure the victory.

Johnson will now travel to non-conference foe Rivier College on Sunday at 12:00 pm in their next contest while Castleton will move on to play at non-conference opponent Hartwick College on Tuesday at 3:00 pm.