HENNIKER, N.H. – University of Maine at Farmington seniors Sean Berce and Jake Linkletter each scored four goals to lead the Beavers to a 15-10 win over Johnson State College, in a North Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse matchup played Saturday at New England College.
UMF improved to 2-6 overall with the win, 2-4 in the NAC, while Johnson State fell to 0-7, 0-4 in conference play.
Senior Mike Foley charted two goals for Farmington, while Brandon Melville, TC Peters, Casey Wrigley, Cam McAllister, and Michael Keim all scored once.
Matthew Malek paced Johnson State with four goals and one assist, while Andrew Neddo finished with two goals. Colin Dalmata, Mason Phillips, Matt Dekens, and Jacob Eustis each recorded one goal.
The Beavers enjoyed a five-goal run through the latter part of the first quarter and heading into the second, blowing wide open what had been a 3-2 game in their favor after the first eight minutes of play. Linkletter scored twice during the run, which helped the Beavers head into the intermission with an 8-3 lead.
Linkletter and Berce each added goals in the first two minutes of the third quarter, extending Farmington’s lead to 10-3.
Two Johnson State scores and Foley’s second of the day advanced to score to 11-5, and another four-goal surge by the Beavers left Farmington with a 15-5 lead with 11:21 left in the game.
Johnson State added five goals over the last seven minutes of play to cut the margin in half, but would never seriously challenge the Beavers’ lead.
Senior goalie Ben Altmaier recorded 10 saves in the Beaver victory, while the Badgers’ Jay Palmisano charted nine saves in the loss. Johnson State narrowly outshot Farmington, 39-37, and had 36 ground balls to the Beavers’ 21.
UMF is scheduled to host Husson University of Tuesday, April 15, at 4 p.m., but that game will have to be moved due to field conditions. An exact location, date, and time for the contest will be determined on Monday.
