BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- A 4-1 scoring run in the second quarter helped Bridgewater defeat Methodist, 13-7, in men's lacrosse on Saturday afternoon.
 
After falling behind 3-0 in the game's first seven-and-a-half minutes, Matt Layden and Jake Smerka scored back-to-back to pull the Monarchs (2-2) within 3-2 by the end of the first quarter.
 
The Eagles' (3-1) Chris Voorhees and Thomas Maher scored consecutive goals in the first three minutes of the second half to give BC a 5-2 lead. Mack Cox answered for the Monarchs, scoring his first collegiate goal off a feed from Aaron Ward to make it 5-3, but two more goals from the Eagles gave Bridgewater a 7-3 lead late in the quarter en route to a 7-4 lead at the break.
 
Bridgewater outscored the Monarchs, 3-1, in the third quarter to push out to a 10-5 lead entering the final 15 minutes as MU could close the gap.
 
BC held a 42-26 edge in shots and won 13-of-21 faceoffs. The Eagles also had 41 ground balls to 23 for Methodist. The Monarchs did limit Bridgewater to just 3-for-11 with a man advantage, and MU was 2-for-4 on man-up opportunities.
 
Andrew Chinigo took the loss for MU in the cage. He played 39:54 and made 13 saves against eight goals allowed. Liam Van Hoene played the other 20:06 and allowed five goals with three saves. Michael Fairley played all 60 minutes for Bridgewater and made 11 saves.
 
Jake Smerka and Matt Layden each had three goals to pace the Monarchs. Smerka also had an assist, and Justin Layden had a pair of helpers. Kyle Peacock led MU with four ground balls, and Trent Diaz had three. Daniel Richards had three caused turnovers.
 
For Bridgewater, Jeff Strickland had five points (3g, 2a). Rob Simmons (2g, 2a) and Blake Mann (3g, 1a) each had four points. Tyler Nieto, who won 12-of-19 faceoffs, had nine ground balls.
 
Methodist returns home on Wednesday when it host Christopher Newport at 2:30 pm.