FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter spurred the Methodist men's lacrosse team to a 14-9 win over Randolph-Macon on Wednesday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
The Monarchs (9-2) used the four-goal surge to turn what had been an 8-6 contest to begin the final period into a 12-6 lead with 8:53 left to play. Kyle Clarkson assisted on three of the four goals, and Chris Lombardi scored twice.
 
Lombardi began the run at the 13:27 mark, taking a pass from Clarkson and beating RMC's (5-5) Brian Davies to make it 9-7. Tyson Haith added a goal off a feed from Clarkson at 10:33 to make it 10-6. Clarkson set up Ben Click for a goal at the 9:05 mark, and 12 seconds after that, MU scored in transition on a Jake Smerka to Lombardi connection for a 12-8 lead with 8:53 remaining.
 
The Yellow Jackets trimmed their deficit to four (12-8) with 5:32 to play, but Clarkson and Lombardi netted goals for MU in the final four minutes, to seal the victory.
 
The six-goal outburst in the fourth quarter mirrored MU's second quarter, in which it outscored RMC 6-2, to turn a 1-1 contest into a 7-3 lead at halftime. Smerka scored three of his four goals in the second quarter.
 
Shots were even at 35 apiece, but MU's Jackson Bingham came up with 13 saves in the cage to move to 7-1 on the season. Davies made seven saves for the Yellow Jackets.
 
Methodist had 22 turnovers to 21 for RMC, and the Monarchs won 19 of 27 face offs. Trent Diaz was 14 of 17 at the X, and Jordan DeSalvo was 5 for 10.
 
Clarkson finished with seven points on three goals and four assists, and Smerka scored four times with one helper. Lombardi scored three goals and had one assist. Daniel Richards caused four turnovers and added seven ground balls, while Jay Robinson also had seven ground balls.
 
Colin Disesa, Miles Muncie and Kyle Keepers each scored twice for RMC, and Sam Mayer handed out three assists. Davies and Joe Maranto each had six ground balls.
 
The Monarchs return to play on Sunday at 3:00 pm when they play host to Huntingdon on Senior Day.