LAGRANGE, Ga.  The Methodist men's lacrosse season concluded in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament with Piedmont College pulling away in the second half to win 11-6 over the Monarchs Saturday evening.

The Lions outscored Methodist, 7-3, in the second half after taking just a slim, one-goal advantage into halftime.

This semifinals matchup was a reverse of what happened last week in the regular season when Methodist won 6-5 in Demorest, Georgia.

THE ESSENTIALS
Event: USA South Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals
Final score: Piedmont def. Methodist, 11-6
Records: Methodist 9-7, Piedmont 8-8
Location: Calloway Stadium; LaGrange, Ga.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Piedmont's Josh Cobbina took matters and the game in his own hands in the third quarter. He reeled off three consecutive goals to turn a slight 4-3 lead into a commanding 7-3 lead. The 5-2 Lions run through the middle periods consisted of Cobbina's three scores and Brady Jenks' two second quarter goals.
• Methodist did not go down without a fight, twice cutting the game within a two-goal deficit in the final period. AJ Mejia and Connor Glenn each scored goals but Piedmont countered each time with a goal to end any Monarch momentum.
• However, the Lions scored the final three goals of the game over the last five minutes to ice their victory.
• After Mejia scored the first goal of the game, Piedmont scored the next two goals of the game. However, the Monarchs had answers early for the Lions offense with Jack Bryan tying the game at 2-all and Cade Crews tying it at 3-3.

STAT FACTS

• There were 20 penalties in this very physical matchup but neither team was able to capitalize on their extra-man opportunities with Piedmont going two-for-10 and Methodist went one-for-nine.
• The difference in shots on target was negligible (Piedmont:19, Methodist:16) despite the Lions owning a large 50-26 advantage in total shots taken.
• Mejia and Andrew Mayefskie finished with a team-high seven ground balls. Mayefskie also had a game-high four caused turnovers. In addition to Mayefskie, John Tartline was also a X-factor on defense, recovering six ground balls and forcing three turnovers.
• Mejia (two goals), along with Hunter Vaughan (two assists) were the two Monarchs that finished with more than one point.
• One clear area that the Lions excelled in over the Monarchs were on faceoffs. Piedmont had a 12-7 advantage in faceoffs.
• Piedmont's Zach Czulada finished with 10 saves against six goals allowed.

POST-TOURNAMENT
AJ Mejia (midfield) and John Tartline (defense) were named to the 2019 USA South All-Tournament Team.