FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  Methodist pulled away from visiting Greensboro College with four unanswered goals to begin the fourth quarter, using the late barrage to break a tie score on the way to an important 14-11 USA South Athletic Conference men's lacrosse victory Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Monarch Stadium.

Methodist only trailed once in the game, following the Pride's opening goal in the first minute, but needed the late scoring surge to help its playoff hopes. Now third in the conference after Saturday's victory, the Monarchs are actually in second place as standings leader Pfeiffer University is ineligible for the conference postseason tournament while it reclassifies from NCAA Division II status.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Methodist def. Greensboro, 14-11
Records: Methodist 8-5 (3-2 USA South), Greensboro 5-8 (0-3)
Location: Monarch Stadium; Fayetteville, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A Greensboro penalty as the third quarter ended pushed Methodist into a man-up opportunity to begin the fourth, and the Monarchs delivered in that first minute with an unassisted goal by Bryce Kephart that broke a 9-9 deadlock.
• Kephart fed Mark Chatt for another goal off the ensuing face-off, and Cade Crews added his fifth of the day less than a minute later to increase the cushion to three.
• Chatt added the fourth and final marker of the run, diving from behind the goal line as the shot clock was about to expire.
• Greensboro goals with 7:30 and 5:23 to play tightened things up, but Crews' sixth of the day -- off an assist from defenseman John Tartline -- with 67 seconds remaining on the game clock helped ice the victory. A face-off win from Nick Lemieux then ensured the outcome.
• The Pride's Michael Meley got his team on the board first, netting a goal just 57 seconds into the opening quarter. But the Monarchs' first four-goal run of the game erased that deficit, and they never trailed again.

NUMBERS

• The assist by Tartline, a senior, was his first of the season.
• Though Lemieux came up with that important late-game face-off win, he shared responsibilities at the dot with Billy DeLarm who ended his day 9-of-17 against the Pride's face-off specialist.
• Crews added a pair of assists to his six-goal explosion for an eight-point afternoon.
• Senior AJ Mejia and Chatt both finished with four points. Mejia scored twice and dished out a pair of assists, while Chatt found the back of the Pride net three times and added one assist.
• Mejia led the Monarchs in ground balls with seven, and also added a caused turnover.
• Methodist finished with 10 caused turnovers, doubling up the Prides' 5.
• Senior goalkeeper Liam Von Hoene played a strong afternoon between the pipes, coming up with 15 saves to help keep Greensboro from ever taking the lead again after it's first goal.

SENIORS

• Methodist's five seniors -- Jackson Bingham, Von Hoene, Parke Kissner, Mejia and Tartline -- all started Saturday's game. Tartline and Kissner continued anchoring the last line of defense in front of Von Hoene, and Bingham and Mejia each scored on Senior Day. Bingham's goal was his third of the season, lifting the ex-goalkeeper's career total to three.
• The seniors were joined on the field by family members in a short post-game ceremony.

UP NEXT

• Methodist entertains Huntingdon College on Saturday, April 13 in the final home game of the year for the Monarchs.
• Greensboro travels to Demorest, Georgia, on Tuesday for its next game against host Piedmont College.