FARMINGTON, Maine – University of Maine at Farmington junior attacker Jake Linkletter (Athens, Maine/Madison) tallied five goals to lead the Beavers to a 14-4 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's lacrosse victory over Johnson State College, Sunday afternoon. Johnson State falls to 0-8 overall, 0-6 in conference play while UMaine-Farmington's record improved to 3-5 overall, 3-3 in the NAC.

Alan Bickings (Waterville, Vt.) paced Johnson State with two goals, with Matt Dekens (Johnson, Vt.) and Taner Cross (East Montpelier, Vt.) adding single markers.

Brandon Melville (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) added three goals to the Beavers' cause, including scoring Farmington's first goal at the 9:25 mark of the opening frame. Sean Berce (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) and Mike Foley (Byfield, Mass./Triton Regional) each charted two goals, while TC Peters (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) and David Grainger (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) had one each.

Linkletter picked up his first goal at the 7:12 mark of the opening quarter, part of UMaine-Farmington initial three-goal surge to start the game. Bickings got the Badgers on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, and each team scored twice over the remainder of the period to give the Beavers a 5-3 lead at the half.

UMaine-Farmington exploded for five straight goals to open the third quarter to take a 10-3 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach. Cross's goal for Johnson State with 6:31 remaining in the third briefly broke Farmington's momentum, but the Beavers rattled off four more goals in under five minutes for the final 14-4 margin.

UMaine-Farmington  narrowly outshot Johnson State, 39-38, and the Badgers had a 49-38 advantage in ground balls.

The Badgers will host Lyndon State college in a re-scheduled game on Tuesday at 4:00pm while the Beavers go on to play their final two games of the season on the road, starting with a contest at Thomas College on Wednesday, April 17, at 7:00 p.m.