After a scoreless opening 45 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, goals came fast and furious in the second half as Lourdes defeated Indiana East 3-2 inside of Total Sports in Rossford, Ohio, allowing the Gray Wolves to match the program record for victories in a season.
 
With the win, Lourdes equals the inaugural team from 2015 with seven victories.
 
"I thought we played a good second half other than the 10-minute stretch in which we gave up the two goals," head coach Matt Johnson said after the match.  "We showed a lot of character coming back from down 2-1 to earn the win."
 
The first half was a midfield battle with Lourdes holding a slim 6-4 advantage in shot attempts but neither team was able to find the back of the net.
 
The Gray Wolves broke through less than five minutes into the second half.  Moustapha Merhi (Beirut, Lebanon/Star International Academy), making his collegiate debut, took a feed from Kevin Gonzalez (Pasadena, Texas/South Houston H.S.) and found the back of the net to put Lourdes in front 1-0.
 
Indiana East answered with a pair of goals just over two minutes apart, both from Gustavo Ferrari.  He tied the goal after collecting a deflection from Julio Leal Ruiz and finding the back of the goal.  Moments later, he sent a blast from 30 yards out into the upper left corner to put the Red Wolves on top 2-1.
 
Lourdes was able to equalize the match in the 79^th minute as Brendon Long (Cave Creek, Ariz./Cactus Shadows H.S.) converted a penalty kick for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.  The Gray Wolves added the match winner with less than five minutes to play.  Leon Eisert (Leipzig, Germany /Kathe-Kollwitz Gymnasium) took a free kick from outside the box and found the head of Anthony Samuel (Chaguanas, Trinidad & Tobago/Chaguanas H.S.) who beat goalkeeper Aaron Gipson.
 
Gipson made three saves in goal for Indiana East (0-4) while Jorge Mendoza (Houston, Texas/Houston Heights H.S.) made five stops in net for the Gray Wolves.  Lourdes outshot the Red Wolves 14-13 for the match.
 
"This was a good way for us to prepare for the return to conference play," Johnson added.
 
Lourdes (7-4) will have two weeks off before returning to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play for the first time since October as the Gray Wolves face Northwestern Ohio inside of Total Sports on March 10.  Kickoff is set for 10:30 a.m.