FINAL SCORE: Vermont 19, NJIT 5
MADISON, N.J. – Senior James Barlow's eight-point effort and a team shutout in the second half against NJIT propelled the Catamounts to a 19-5 victory over the Highlanders at Drew University on Tuesday afternoon.

Vermont stormed out of the halftime break with 14 unanswered goals in the second half and recorded its first win of the season against NJIT for the second straight season. The Highlanders fell to 0-2 with the loss
 
Barlow posted a career-high six goals and added two assists, while five other Catamounts contributed multi-point efforts. Cam Milligan posted four goals and three assists and Ian MacKay tallied a pair of goals and added three assists, while Cam Stafford (2 goals, 1 assist) and Dawes Milchling (2g, 2a) combined for seven points.
 
Joe Lomeli continued his 14th straight game with a goal as he added four of NJIT's scores. Ryan Darrow contributed the fifth goal and Jessie Rice notched an assist.

Stafford found the back of the net past NJIT's Nick Marzullo for the game's opening goal three minutes into the first quarter, but Joe Lomeli answered back with two unassisted goals for the Highlanders. Barlow notched three early points in the opening period on a goal and a pair of assists.
 
Milligan and Barlow combined to put the Catamounts up 3-2 over the Highlanders after the first 10 minutes.
 
NJIT took its first lead of the game (4-3) with 9:26 left in the half after Darrow drove the left sideline past Vermont's defense, followed by Lomeli's hat trick on a man-up opportunity. MacKay forced his way past two white jerseys and struck from the top of the attack box for his fifth goal, and tied the game once again at 4-4.
 
Stafford sent a pass to Milchling in Highlander territory to give Vermont a one-goal advantage, but Lomeli responded a minute later to knot the game at five after the first half. NJIT held a 20-11 edge in ground balls, but Luc LeBlanc went 10-for-12 in faceoffs in the first half.
 
Vermont recorded 14 unanswered goals in the second half and shut out NJIT over the remaining 20 minutes. Barlow tallied a trio of third quarter goals, including two in the second minute of the period square in front of the cage.  
 
Six different athletes posted a goal in the final quarter as Nick Bartlett and Barlow each took advantage of a Highlander penalty and man-up opportunity. Junior Andrew Duffy recorded his first career goal in the final 1:26 of the game, securing Vermont's first win of the 2016 campaign.
 
Marzullo collected 12 saves throughout the contest, while Justin Rosenberg grabbed four saves for Vermont and Jon Kaplan tallied seven saves for the win. As a team, UVM went 20-for-27 in faceoffs, led by LeBlanc (20-for-23). Vermont held a 39-33 edge over NJIT in ground balls and outshot the Highlanders 50-31.

Vermont gets back on the road as it heads to Worcester, Massachusetts to face off against Holy Cross on Saturday (Feb. 20). Game time against the Crusaders is set for 2:30 p.m. UVM then hosts Providence College in its home opener at Virtue Field on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.

Tickets to the game can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com/Tickets, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office located in Patrick Gymnasium (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), via the phone at 802-656-4410, or in person one hour before game time at the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office.