Lourdes battled from six goals down midway through the third quarter to tie the game with less than three minutes to play, but Taylor scored the game-winner with 47 seconds to play as the Trojans defeated the Gray Wolves 14-13 on Saturday afternoon at the Taylor Lacrosse Field in Upland, Ind.
 
The Gray Wolves struck quick as Nick Johnson (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg H.S.) found the back of the cage just 34 seconds into the game.  Taylor responded with the next five goals of the contest and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way.  Lourdes stopped the run as Jake Busta (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad H.S.) scored with 27 seconds to play in the opening quarter, only to see the Trojans answer with one tick left on the clock.
 
Taylor (4-11, 2-7 WHAC) extended its lead to five by halftime, 9-4, and the Trojans scored the first goal of the third to push the advantage to six.  Lourdes rallied with the final five goals of the third quarter, with Tyler Pezzot (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek H.S.) scoring three consecutive goals before Johnson followed with a goal.  Chad Causley's (Clinton Township, Mich./L'Anse Creuse H.S.) tally with 20 seconds to play in the period pulled the Gray Wolves within one, 10-9, heading to the final stanza.
 
After Taylor scored the first two goals of the fourth, Johnson and Caden Louthan (Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs H.S.) made it a one-goal game again.  The Trojans pushed the advantage back to two before Pezzot and Johnson scored back-to-back tallies, evening the game at 13 with 2:48 to play.
 
The Trojans got the game-winning goal from Reid Gerig with 47 seconds to play.  Lourdes had a man-up in the closing seconds, but a last second shot was saved by Nathanael Love, one of nine saves the Taylor netminder made I the game.
 
Taylor outshot Lourdes 37-36 for the game, with George Hoexum (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern H.S.) madding 11 stops for the Gray Wolves in the cage.
 
The Trojans also had a 38-29 ground ball advantage, with both teams winning 15 faceoffs.  Clay Hall (Great Mills, Md./Saint Mary's Ryken H.S.) grabbed six ground balls to lead the Gray Wolves in that category.
 
Lourdes (7-6, 4-5) will take to the road on Tuesday evening to open play in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  The league will announce official pairings following the completion of Saturday's play.