CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Methodist men's lacrosse team ran its win streak to six games with an 18-6 win over Alvernia on Thursday afternoon in a game played in Clearwater, Fla.
 
Chris Lombardi (5g/1a) and Matt Layden (4g/2a) each scored six points to lead the Monarchs (6-1), and Jackson Bingham made nine saves in the cage.
 
Lombardi and Layden combined to score each of MU's first five goals for a 5-0 lead by the 5:48 mark of the first quarter. AJ Mejia and Ben Click scored for the Monarchs to make it 7-0, before Lombardi closed out the first-period, scoring 59 seconds before the first quarter ended.
 
Patrick Dunn broke Alvernia's (1-3) dry spell with a goal 44 seconds into the second quarter to make it 8-1. MU piled on five more unanswered goals to extend its lead to 13-1 on Mejia's second goal at the 2:01 mark.
 
Zach Brommer answered with a goal for the Crusaders with 1:12 showing on the clock, but Layden scored once more, with seven seconds remaining, to give the Green and Gold an insurmountable 14-2 lead at halftime.
 
Methodist only outshot Alvernina, 40-34, but held a 27-15 edge in shots on cage. The Monarchs held a 40-27 edge in ground balls, and won 16 faceoffs to 12 for the Crusaders.
 
In addition to Layden and Lombardi, Jake Smerka and Jay Robinson finished with a goal and two assists apiece. Trevor Dickinson also had a multi-point game with a goal and an assist. In addition to his nine saves, Bingham added six ground balls, Kyle Peacock had five, and Daniel Richards and Bryan Cooley Jr. each had a pair of caused turnovers.
 
Kyle Augustine took the loss in cage for the Crusaders, allowing 14 goals with six saves in 30 minutes of action. Brommer, Jarret Abernathy and Sam St. Croix each had a goal and an assist for Alvernia.
 
Methodist will look to extend its win streak to seven games when it takes on Misericordia on Friday beginning at 7:00 pm.