Badgers Pick Up First Win; 4-2 Over UMF

KENTS HILL, Maine -- Johnson State College eked out a 4-2 victory over the University of Maine at Farmington in North Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse competition Saturday morning at Kents Hill School.

The Beavers slipped to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the NAC, while the Badgers notched their first win of the season to improve to 1-3 (1-1). Farmington is slated to host Lyndon State College at Kents Hill Sunday at noon. Johnson State is tabbed to take on Thomas College Sunday at 1 p.m. at Colby College.

Alex Petti (East Greenwich, R.I.) scored twice for Johnson State, while Justin Clayton (Brandon, Vt.) and Zach Jerome (Waterford, Conn.) added a goal and Justin Nelson (Lakeville, Mass.) doled out two assists.

Branden Sawyer (East Greenwich, R.I.) recorded 16 saves for the Badgers.

Ethan Fletcher (Waterville, Vt.) scored a goal for the Beavers, who were also recipients of an own goal. Kyle Mitchell (Baltimore, Md.) assisted on Fletcher's tally.

Ben Altmaier (Farmington, Maine) made 12 saves in the loss. Mike Foley (Byfield, Mass.) led the Beavers with 12 groundballs and five caused turnovers.

The two teams fired off 29 shots, but scoring was at a premium with Petti's unassisted marker breaking the ice with 1:58 left in the opening quarter. Jerome took advantage of a man-up situation to finish off a Justin Connolly (Jeffersonville, Vt.) pass with 10:44 remaining in the second for a 2-0 edge for the Badgers at intermission.

Fletcher's goal came just under three minutes into the third to cut the lead to 2-1, but Clayton returned the two-score distance with 7:52 remaining in the third.

Offensive dormancy ran for more than 19 minutes before Petti pushed the score to 4-1 with 2:51 left in the fourth. The Beavers enjoyed a pair of man-up situations over the final 2:18 to make things interesting with the own goal coming with 2:05 left, but the Badgers held on for the 4-2 win.