BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Sophomore attack J.P. Sullivan (Floral Park, N.Y.) scored two of his four goals in the fourth quarter to lead the visiting Skidmore College Thoroughbreds to a 9-8 victory over host Babson College in a non-conference men's lacrosse contest at MacDowell Field on Sunday afternoon. It was the season opener for both teams.

Sophomore Mike Holden (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and senior Jeremy Goldman (Port Washington, N.Y.) each added one goal and one assist for Skidmore, while first-year goalie Matt Diaco (Kinnelon, N.J.) finished with 17 saves in net. Senior Jacques Ward (New York, N.Y.) led the Thoroughbred defense with eight groundballs and three caused turnovers, and junior Ryan Paradis (Brookside, N.J.) won 12 of 19 faceoffs.

For Babson, sophomore attack Alex Patinkin (Providence, R.I.) led all players with four goals and two assists for six points, while classmate Jamie Schmidt (Shelburne, Vt.) added three goals. Freshman Ryan Dawidjan (Worcester, Mass.) added team-highs of six groundballs and six caused turnovers, and sophomore goalie Jay Whalen (Westwood, Mass.) finished a terrific effort in net with 20 saves.

Sullivan's first goal of the afternoon gave Skidmore an early 2-1 lead with 5:34 left in the first quarter, but Patinkin rattled off two straight scores in the first and Schmidt added another early in the second to put Babson in front, 4-2. The Thoroughbreds then closed the second quarter with three unanswered goals to take a slim 5-4 cushion into halftime.

Babson knotted the score three times in the third quarter, including a 7-7 deadlock after Patinkin's fourth goal of the game with 1:16 remaining in the period. However, Skidmore moved in front for good early in the fourth, as Sullivan converted a feed from Holden for an 8-7 advantage with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game. The sophomore attack then added a key insurance goal – his fourth of the day – with 2:44 left to give the visitors a two-goal lead.

The Beavers pulled to within one when Patinkin assisted Schmidt on his third of the game with 1:27 to go, but Skidmore would not allow a shot the rest of the way as the Thoroughbreds held on for the 9-8 victory.