Lourdes quest for a national title at the NAIA National Invitational came to an end on Friday evening as the fourth-ranked Gray Wolves fell 23-11 to No. 1 Davenport in the semifinals at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, S.C.
 
"The guys played hard the entire time and we are proud of them," head coach Patrick Yannarelli said.  "They battled with a couple of runs but came up short.  Our hats off to Davenport, they played well.  It was a definite learning experience and with our youth we will get better at handling adversity.  We will continue to grow as a program and we have a bright future.  We are excited about traveling to California for the MCLA tournament."
 
Davenport (19-2) jumped on top early with the game's first three goals and never trailed in the contest.  Jared Yoshino (Toledo, Ohio/Southview H.S.) scored the Gray Wolves' first goal with 1:25 to play in the opening quarter as Lourdes trailed 4-1 after the opening 15 minutes.
 
The Panthers went on a 9-2 run spanning the first two quarters while building a 12-3 advantage before Lourdes scored the final four goals of the half to close within five, 12-7, at the break.  Davenport extended the lead to six, 15-9 heading into the fourth quarter.  The Panthers closed with a 9-2 run over the final 22 minutes of the game for the final margin.
 
Danny Bichsel (Westerville, Ohio/North H.S.) led Lourdes with four goals and two assists while Yoshino had two goals and three helpers.  Dalton Vowles (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) and Tanner Jaramillo (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) had two goals each while Casey Hilfinger (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) added one.
 
Davenport outshot Lourdes 57-40 for the game, while Bryan Larocque scored eight times and Jarred Riley added another tally.
 
Bichsel led the Gray Wolves with seven ground balls as Lourdes dropped that battle to the Panthers 53-41.
 
Lourdes (15-4) will head west to MCLA Championships beginning on Monday afternoon.  The Gray Wolves will face Minnesota Duluth beginning at 4:45 p.m. in Irvine, Calif. in the first round.