The Johnson State College men's soccer team picked up a 2-0 win in its season opener against The College of St. Joe's (Vt.). Johnson State improves to 1-0 overall while SJC falls to 0-1 on the season.

The Badgers, saw goals from Josh King and rookie Corey Nystrom. Dominic Caforia registered one assist. In goal, Senior Alex Pakatar earned his  first shutout win of the season making seven saves. Julio Garcia was saddled with the loss for St. Joe's with two saves.

SJC got a shot off early for the visitors when  Keven Andrade crossed a screamer in front of Pakatar. Andrade's goal missed wide but set the tone for the game. After picking the pace-up in minute five, the Badgers' Richie Perez sent in a dangerous ball that ended up going just wide in the seventh minute.  Johnson's momentum continued to build, as the Badgers unsuccessfully tried to convert two corner kicks right in a row at the fifteen minute mark. The hosts hung-tight in the offensive zone setting up King to convert a loose ball 20 yards out into the first goal of the game. St. Joe's was able to out shoot the Badgers 5-0 in the remaining 30 minutes of the half. Despite the added pressure from SJC, Johnson held onto its 1-0 lead through the half. 

The second half of the game was much more even paced, with both teams taking opportunities when they had the chance. Nystrom's goal didn't come until the final three minutes of the game when Caforia fed a ball to the middle where Nystrom took to touches and placed it into the lower left corner past Garcia. The Badgers ended the match on top with a final score of 2-0 for its first win of the season. 

Johnson State resumes their schedule on Friday night at the Norwich Cadet tournament. The Badgers face Norwich at 4:30p.

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