DEMOREST, Ga. -- Aaron Ward recorded four goals as the Methodist men's lacrosse team defeated  Piedmont, 17-6, at the Walker Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Monarchs outscored the Lions 11-5 in the second half as they improved to 12-3 on the year. Meanwhile, the Lions fell to 5-9 overall.
 
Ward opened the scoring for MU at the 12:46 with an assist by Jake Smerka. Chris Lombardi added a man-up goal just over six minutes later to give the Monarchs a 2-0 advantage. Ward tallied another goal with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
Piedmont registered its first goal nearly five minutes into the second period before the Monarchs responded with three-straight goals. Andrew Ruskey put MU up 4-1 before Smerka notched his first goal of the game after receiving a pass from Lombardi 5-1. AJ Mejia gave the Monarchs a 6-1 lead going into halftime as he took a pass from Matt Layden.
 
After the break, Ben Click increased the lead with an assist from Jay Robinson, while Smerka tallied another goal just 24 seconds later to give the Green and Gold an 8-1 advantage. Piedmont posted a pair of goals to work the deficit down to 8-3, but Ward followed with his third goal of the afternoon.
 
The two sides alternated goals late in the third period before the Monarchs went for seven-consecutive goals, including two from Click and Meija's second goal of the game with an assist by Michael Bradley, as MU pulled ahead 17-5. Piedmont added a goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation after being held scoreless for the previous 20 minutes.
 
Ward led the way offensively with four goals while also adding a ground ball and a caused turnover. Smerka and Click each finished with a hat trick, while Smerka added an assist and Click picked up four ground balls. Ruskey tallied four points on two goals and two assists, while Layden finished with a pair of assists and a goal. Robinson also recorded four ground balls. Trent Diaz was 11 of 18 on faceoffs with three ground balls, while Jordan DeSalvo was 5 of 9 with four ground balls.
 
For the lions, Jeremy Kohn registered two goals, while Josh Cobbina had two points on a goal and an assist. Chris Hadlow, Nick Burns and jared Harris also scored on Saturday. Brady Jenks and Zach Czulada recorded five ground balls while Lamont Nesbitt was 10 of 25 in faceoffs with four ground balls.
 
Jackson Bingham recorded seven saves and allowed five goals in 50:43 in the cage, while Clay Stevenson closed out the contest and made one save. Czulada made 17 saves in all 60 minutes on the field.
 
Methodist returns to action as it closes the regular season Tuesday, April 18 at Randolph beginning at 5 pm.
 
 
 
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