MANSFIELD, Conn.—Senior Mike Jordan (Cheshire, Conn.) scored four goals and classmate Mike Devine (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in with two goals and a game-high three assists as Eastern Connecticut State University rallied to defeat visiting Babson College, 9-6, in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, Eastern Connecticut is now 2-0 on the year, while Babson drops to 1-2 overall.

Sophomore Scott Doten (Western Springs, Ill.) scored twice and classmate Brendan Coan (Towson, Md.) had a goal and two assists to lead the Beavers, who held a 40-28 edge in shots.

The Warriors man-down unit killed off seven of eight penalties and the Warriors overcame their only deficit of the game by scoring six straight goals – four coming in the final three minutes of the third quarter – after falling behind 4-3 a little more than midway through the third quarter.

Trailing for the only time in the game, Eastern scored four times in the final 2:54 of the third period, and then tacked on the first two goals of the fourth to build a 9-4 lead. Two-time All-America midfielder Mike Devine (Cheshire, Conn.) had assists on three of the goals in the third quarter, including a pair of Jordan's tallies.

Eastern, ranked  No. 8 in New England, was whistled for eight of the ten penalties in the match – including the first six – but Babson could capitalize against the Warriors' man-down unit spearheaded by defenseman Chris Brown (Cohasset, Mass.) and Travis Tiger (Ridgfield, Conn.), both defensemen. The Beavers' lone extra-man strike came when first-year attackman Matthew Logan (Downingtown, Pa.) recorded his first collegiate goal with 6:29 left in the third quarter and capped a three-goal Babson run  that pushed the visitors into their only lead of the game, 4-3.

With Eastern down by one, Jordan registered his 5th, 6th and 7th goals in two games – the third tally set up by junior midfielder Zach Thresher (Somers, Conn.) – and senior attack Trevor Morrissette (Bedford, N.H.) beat the third-period horn on a late pass from Devine to make it 6-4 heading into the final quarter.

First-year sophomore midfielder Tyler Vallie (Orange, Conn.) – a pre-season All-New England selection – won ten of 15 faceoffs, and Tiger and Brown both scooped up four ground balls – as the Warriors made it two straight wins to open the season for the first time in nine years. Devine totaled two goals and three assists.

Sophomore goalie Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, Mass.) made 12 saves to post his second win in as many starts this year. Smaldone shut out the Beavers for a stretch of 18:32 before Doten broke through for his first two goals of the year over the final three minutes.

Babson scoring leader Spencer Low (Natick, Mass.), a sophomore attack, was limited to one goal – his eighth of the year and the team's first of the game midway through the first quarter on  three shots.

Senior Adam Daroff (Pepper Pike, Ohio) made five saves for the Beavers. First-year Connor Hinton (Florham, Park, N.J.) collected a game-high five groundballs, while senior Craig Jerabeck (Pittsford, N.Y.) caused a game-best three turnovers

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Union at 1 p.m., while Eastern welcomes regionally-ranked Endicott for a 12 p.m. face-off.

Note: Portions of this release courtesy of Eastern Connecuticut Sports Information.