In a battle of NAIA top-10 programs, seventh-ranked Lourdes dropped its Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opener on the road at fifth-ranked Siena Heights 7-4 on Wednesday evening at O'Laughlin Stadium in Adrian, Mich.
 
The Gray Wolves were shut out in the opening half, falling behind 6-0 at the break, and despite a second half rally were unable to complete the comeback attempt.
 
"There were some great things that happened tonight, but we couldn't convert offensively in the first half," head coach Patrick Yannarelli said after the game.  "As a team we need to come together in some areas to get better.  We are looking forward to practicing hard over the next few weeks."
 
Siena Heights scored the game's first goal just 1:58 into the contest before both teams were kept off the scoreboard for the next 16 minutes.  The Saints added five second quarter goals, including one with just 10 seconds remaining before halftime, to build a 6-0 lead at the break.  The hosts outshot Lourdes 18-7 in the opening 30 minutes, including 11-0 on goal.
 
Lourdes broke through on the scoreboard with 7:40 to play in the third as Greg Johanning (Tivertson, R.I./Tivertson H.S.) took a feed from Tanner Jaramillo (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) for his team-leading 14^th goal of the season.  Just 1:15 later, Johanning found Mark O'Bryant (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights H.S.) to pull the Gray Wolves within four, 6-2, heading into the final quarter.
 
Siena Heights tallied the first goal of the fourth with 9:31 to play, pushing the lead back to five before Casey Hilfinger (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) scored an unassisted goal with 5:43 to play.  Johanning added his second goal of the game with Hilfinger drawing the assists with 1:58 to play, but that would be the last tally for either team on the evening.
 
The Saints finished with a 29-25 shot advantage for the game, including a 17-10 edge on goal.  Danny Orr scored three times for Siena Heights (6-0, 1-0 WHAC) while Shane Lewandowski also added a pair of goals.
 
Jake Noel (Knoxville, Tenn./William Blount H.S.) won 12 of the 15 face-offs on the night for the Gray Wolves while collecting 11 ground balls, as Lourdes finished with a 27-22 edge in that category.
 
Jared Huiskens (Bay City, Mich./Central H.S.) made 10 saves in the cage for Lourdes while Tyler Hooper made four stops for the Saints.
 
Lourdes (5-2, 0-1) returns home on Friday afternoon for the team's final non-conference game of the season as the Gray Wolves host Robert Morris (Ill.).  The opening face-off is set for 3 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.