FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  After a back-and-forth first half, the Methodist men's lacrosse team fell to Piedmont on Saturday in a 14-7 battle. The Monarchs trailed by just two goals early in the fourth quarter before conceding a streak of five scores that created a deficit too large to recover from.
 
During the win, senior Mark Chatt recorded his 36th assist on the season, breaking the program record for most assists distributed in a single season.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Piedmont def. Methodist, 14-7
Records: Methodist 8-6 (5-2 USA South), Piedmont 12-2 (6-1 USA South)
Location: Monarch Stadium; Fayetteville, North Carolina

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Piedmont scored the first three goals before Nate Moore found the back of the net near the end of the first quarter. Methodist's Ryan Kavounis (assisted by Mark Chatt) and Matt Bentz (assisted by Ayden Kennedy) each scored a goal within the first two minutes of the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3.
• The Lions ended the half by scoring three of the final four goals, putting Methodist behind 6-4 at halftime. In the third quarter, RJ Breeden tallied his first goal of the game while Piedmont added two more to its total.
• With Methodist trailing 8-5 entering the final period, Breeden scored within the first minute of the quarter to pull the Monarchs back within two. However, the Lions pieced together a five-goal run over a five-minute span to put the game on ice. Kavounis would score one last goal for Methodist which was answered by a final goal from Piedmont.

FAST FACTS

• Methodist managed to take 11 more shots than Piedmont (40-29) and put one more shot on goal (21-20). Piedmont goalkeeper Johnny Matrona recorded 14 saves for the Lions.
• The Monarchs struggled to clear the ball, recording 14 successful clears on 21 attempts.

UP NEXT
Methodist concludes the regular season with a home game against Pfeiffer on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Falcons are currently 6-0 versus USA South opponents.