Johnson State jumped out to a 9-0 lead after one period and coasted to a 15-7 North Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse victory on Wednesday at Minaert Field.  The Badgers outshot Green Mountain 28-8 on the afternoon and won the groundball battle 56-34.

Matt Riani (Sr., Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) tallied three goals in the opening frame that gave JSC the big lead while Erik Tillberg (Jr., Randolph, Vt./Randolph) and Justin Connolly (Fr., Jeffersonville, Vt./Lamoille Union) each had two scores in the opening period that saw JSC outshoot the Eagles 11-1.

Tillberg would finish with a game-high five goals and an assist on the afternoon while Billy Noyes (Jr., Boston, Mass./Northeast Regional) recorded three goals and an assist to pace Johnson State (5-2, 5-2 NAC).  Alex Petti (Fr., East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) scored a goal and added an pair of assists while Steve Noyes (Jr., Barre, Vt./Spaulding) scored a goal, an assist, and a team-high eight groundballs.

Green Mountain (0-7, 1-9 NAC) received a strong effort from Max Talsky (Sr., Hanover, N.H.) with five goals and an assist while Christian Sapovits (So., West Chester, Penn.) added a goal and two assists.

Johnson's Branden Sawyer (Jr., East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) made one save en route to the win while GMC's Keith Drinkwine (Sr., Selkirk, N.Y.) stopped 11 shots.

Johnson State will play another NAC contest on Saturday when they travel to St. Joseph's of Maine at 1:00 pm while Green Mountain, also playing on Saturday at 1:00 pm, plays at Lyndon State.