JOHNSON, Vt. – Maine Maritime Academy men's soccer claimed their third-straight North Atlantic Conference victory on Sunday afternoon, defeating Johnson State 3-1.

Evan Backus (Farmington, Maine) connected with Matthew Caron (Scarborough, Maine) to put the Mariners on the board at 3:45. Caron scored his fifth goal of the season when he found the back of the net just minutes later on a breakaway, to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

The Badgers broke the shutout in the 62nd minute when Dominic Caforia knocked a hard shot in past Mariner keeper Marshall Spear (Rockport, Maine).

Liam Welch (Temple, Maine) scored his first collegiate goal in the 70th minute to give the Mariners the 3-1 lead and the eventual victory.

Spear earned the win in net with six saves, while Johnson's Gerrit Lane stopped five shots in net in the loss.

The Mariners improve to 4-4-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, while the Badgers fall to 2-8 and 1-3 in the NAC. Maine Maritime returns to action on Tuesday, at Colby College.