FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Methodist use an eight-goal third quarter to pull away from Alma and earn a 16-8 win in men's lacrosse on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
Methodist (2-4) had taken a slight 7-6 lead at the break, but outscored the Scots (4-1) by an 8-1 margin in the third period to put the game out of reach.
 
Jay Robinson scored unassisted at the 13:29 mark to give the Green and Gold an 8-6 advantage, and Jake Smerka converted a pass from Kyle Clarkson to make it 9-6 before Alma got on the board following a Jared Nycz unassisted goal at 9:47 to make it 9-7.
 
The Monarchs answered with six straight goals, including four in the final three minutes of the period to take a 15-7 lead into the fourth period. Smerka and Clarkson started the barrage, and Andrew Ruskey scored at 3:00 to make it 12-7. Ty Haith, Smerka and Ben Click followed that up for the eight-goal lead. All six goals were scored unassisted.
 
Nycz scored to open the final quarter, and Smerka closed out the scoring with another unassisted goal at the 7:47 mark to make it 16-8. In all, the Monarchs had six players record multi-point performances, including three different players score at least the goals.
 
Methodist dominated possession, winning 19-of-26 face offs, all taken by Jordan DeSalvo, who finished with 16 ground balls. MU also had a 35-33 edge in shots taken and a 44-26 advantage in ground balls.
 
Jackson Bingham picked up the win for MU, making eight saves on the day. Al Lesperance played the first three quarters and made just one save while surrendering 15 goals.
 
Clarkson led MU with five points on two goals and three assists. Smerka scored four goals, and Haith scored three times. Andrew Ruskey had three goals and a helper, and Chris Lombardi scored twice and added one assist. Clarkson, Robinson and Dan Richards each had four ground balls, and Richards had three caused turnovers.
 
Nycz had two goals and three assists for Alma, and Daniel Buchy and Marshall Aregenta each scored twice. Nycz and Austin Jordan had three ground balls each, and Jordan also had three caused turnovers.
 
Methodist hosts Concordia University Chicago on Tuesday at 1:00 pm.