MISENHEIMER, N.C. -- The Methodist men's lacrosse team dropped a thrilling 11-10 contest at NCAA Div. II Pfeiffer University on Tuesday evening.
 
The Monarchs saw a four-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Falcons and now stand at 11-3 on the season. Pfeiffer, which is in the process of transitioning to NCAA Div. III and will become a member of the USA South next season, improved to 7-6 on the year.
 
The Falcons used a 5-2 scoring edge in the fourth quarter to escape from an 8-6 deficit entering the fourth period. Methodist fell behind 11-9 on Jared Nelson's goal off a feed from Cody Lamond with 5:15 to play.
 
The Monarchs trimmed their deficit to 11-10 with 2:14 to play when Jake Smerka found Chris Lombardi for a goal, then had a golden opportunity to tie the contest late.
 
Pfeiffer won the faceoff following Lombardi's goal, but MU' Dan Richards came up with a caused turnover and MU gained possession with 1:11 to play. MU then gained a two-man advantage as a pair of penalties on the Falcons gave the Green and Gold a chance.
 
Following a pair of shots from MU, the Falcons called timeout with 25 seconds to play and Pfeiffer's Dillon Malloy came up with a caused turnover and ground ball of his own in the final 10 seconds to preserve the win for the home team.
 
The Monarchs' 8-6 lead came on the strength of five straight goals to close the second quarter and carry through the third period. Smerka scored twice during the run and Kyle Clarkson added a goal and an assist.
 
Methodist held a 52-35 edge in shots, and committed four fewer turnovers (16-20), but PU's Mike Moorehead came up big in the cage, making 18 saves on the day. Jackson Bingham made nine saves for the Monarchs.
 
Smerka led MU with three points on two goals and an assist, and Jay Robinson scored twice as well. Clarkson's goal and assist gave him 100 career points in just two seasons of play after transferring to MU. He became the third Monarch to reach 100 career points this season, joining Lombardi and Smerka. Richards added two ground balls and two caused turnovers, and John Tartline added four ground balls.
 
Methodist is back in action on Saturday at Piedmont beginning at 1:00 pm.