FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Ben Click and Chris Lombardi scored 10 seconds apart in the fourth quarter to break an 8-8 tie and lift the Methodist men's lacrosse team to a 10-8 win over Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon at Monarch stadium.
 
After Jake Smerka scored late in the third quarter to tie the game at 8-8, Click opened the fourth-period scoring with an unassisted goal at the 10:22 mark to push MU in front, 9-8. On the ensuing faceoff, Jordan DeSalvo won the draw cleanly for MU and pushed the ball ahead to Smerka, who found Lombardi wide open on the crease for a 10-8 lead with 10:12 left to play.
 
Several minutes of scoreless play was followed by a furious push which saw Bridgewater (5-3) get off seven shots in just over 1:15, but several saves by MU's Jackson Bingham helped the Monarchs preserved their two-goal lead.
 
With 35 seconds to play, BC regained possession and following a shot wide by Thomas Maher, Daniel Brown's shot with six seconds to play hit the pipe and MU won the race to sideline and was able to run out the clock.
 
The Monarchs had taken a 4-2 lead after the first quarter as the MU offense came out firing; launching 22 shots in the first 15 minutes. A 5-2 second quarter in favor of the Eagles gave Bridgewater a 7-6 lead at halftime.
 
Click tied the game a 7-7 in the third off a feed from Lombardi at the 8:34 mark, but Bridgewater went back up one on Tylden Mosby's unassisted goal just as the clock went below 7:00.
 
Methodist out shot Bridgewater, 49-36, and won 17-of-21 face offs. MU also had 34 ground balls to 28 for the Eagles. DeSalvo took every face off for the Monarchs and came up with 10 ground balls.
 
Andrew Buss made 11 saves in goal for Bridgewater, and Bingham came up with seven saves, five after halftime, for the Monarchs.
 
Smerka finished with five points on three goals and two assists. Kyle Clarkson (2g, 1a) and Lombardi (1g, 2a) each had three points, and Jay Robinson and Click each scored twice. Robinson also had four ground balls, and Smerka had three.
 
Blake Mann led the Eagles with three goals, and Maher had a goal and two assists. Sean MacLeish added one goal and one assist.
 
Methodist now hits the road to take on Greensboro on Thursday beginning at 4:00 pm.