FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. It was a tale of two halves as Methodist men's lacrosse staged a furious rally in the second half but ultimately, the first half proved too unkind and Greensboro College walked away with a 13-6 USA South Athletic Conference win in the Monarchs' home finale at Monarch Stadium Wednesday evening.
After scoring nine goals for a 9-2 halftime lead, the Pride only scored four in the second half. Methodist actually outshot Greensboro, 20-11, in the last 30 minutes but the Pride gave up just four goals from those attempts.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Greensboro def. Methodist, 13-6
Records: Methodist 5-6 (3-4 USA South), Greensboro 10-2 (6-2)
Location: Monarch Stadium; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Carter Favreau's goal with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter was the beginning of a 3-0 Methodist run. Matthew Sheinfeld and Favreau added goals to open the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 10-6. On the left wing, Sheinfeld beat two defenders and the goalie for an unassisted goal. With 10:30 remaining in the game, Matt Pemberton found an unmarked Favreau for a man-up goal.
- Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for Methodist as Greensboro scored three goals in the final five minutes to cement its victory.
- Trailing 9-2 entering the second half, Methodist came out of intermission on the front foot. The Monarchs outshot the Pride, 13-4, in the third quarter. Hunter Vaughan scored the first goal of the half. Matt Bentz passed to Vaughan who sent a rocket off the bounce past a defender and through the Pride's goalie Christopher Stallings legs for a score with under 10 minutes to play in the quarter.
- Stallings was the reason that Methodist was unable to close the deficit further. He racked up six saves in the third period alone and finished with 14. The Monarchs had seized momentum with Vaughan's score and Stallings earned consecutive saves on shots from Tyler Bennett, Jesse Leyble, Favreau, and Vaughan over the course of eight minutes before a Greensboro goal made it a 10-3 game with 1:46 left in the period.
- The Pride had such a large cushion thanks to the fact that they scored the game's first eight goals. Greensboro held Methodist without a goal in the first quarter for a 5-0 Pride lead. Davis Miller scored five of Greensboro's nine first-half goals and had four consecutive goals for the Pride which extended its lead from 5-0 to 9-2.
- The Monarchs' first goal came with 7:30 remaining in the second quarter. Jake Bandler scored with an assist from Chris Andes that cut the deficit to 8-1. The score was a well-executed counter attack that was set up by Jackson Bulkin's quick outlet pass to Andes after earning a save. A second Methodist goal before half came from Vaughan on an assist from Pemberton. On a man-up opportunity, Pemberton cycled the ball to an unmarked Vaughan who took one step and fired for a goal over the goalkeeper's shoulder.
GAME NOTES
- Favreau and Vaughan each had two goals, which were a team-high. Pemberton had two assists.
- The four ground balls from Leyble and Harrison Williams were a team-high. Scott Shaffer and Justice Davis had three ground balls. In net for Methodist was Jackson Bulkin, who finished with nine saves.
- Greensboro had a 36-26 advantage in ground balls and a 13-8 edge in faceoffs.
UP NEXT
- The 2021 Methodist men's lacrosse campaign concludes with a trip to Danville, Va. for a USA South Athletic Conference matchup against Averett University on Saturday, April 24 at 1 p.m.
- For Greensboro, a date with Pfeiffer University in the USA South East Division Semifinals awaits as the Pride had previously punched their ticket into the postseason tournament and this contest served as their regular-season finale.
