Lourdes rallied from a five-goal deficit with less than nine minutes to play to pull within one of Madonna on Saturday afternoon, but the Gray Wolves came up just short of completing the comeback, falling 14-13 at Wildcat Stadium.
 
"Today was a great game to watch and to coach," head coach Sierra Wagoner said afterwards.  "The team was a little slow out of the gate but quickly fought back to close the gap.  Our team played with passion, fight, and grit.  We have learned to play through adversity and to never quit.  The game was a tough loss in the end, but we will keep our heads held high because we are hungry for our next win."
 
Madonna (3-7, 2-3 WHAC) scored the first four goals of the game, holding the Gray Wolves scoreless in the opening quarter.  A pair of goals by Amelia McCourt (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Bloomfield Hills H.S.) and another by Jordin Rawski (Toledo, Ohio/Southview H.S.) pulled the Gray Wolves to within two, 5-3, midway through the second quarter.  The Crusaders answered with four straight goals before Neveah Sheeter (Lima, Ohio/Senior H.S.) scored on a free position shot with 30 seconds remaining in the half to make it a 9-4 game at the break.
 
After the Crusaders scored the first two goals of the third period, Lourdes answered with three straight to pull within four heading into the final quarter.  Madonna scored first in the fourth, but Sarah Przyojski (Temperance, Mich./Bedford H.S.) scored back-to-back goals in a 1:10 span to make it a 12-9 game.
 
After Madonna pushed the lead back to five, 14-9, with 8:32 to play, Lourdes rallied.  Przyojski scored her fourth goal of the game with just over five minutes to play and Kylie Turner (Ridgeway, Ohio/Ridgemont H.S.) added another at the 3:32 mark.  Sydney Duran (Temperance, Mich./Bedford H.S.) added a goal with less than two minutes to play and McCourt scored her fourth of the game with 35 seconds to play, but the Gray Wolves were unable to find the tying tally.
 
Madonna outshot the Gray Wolves 32-29 for the game but Maddie Wadesisi (Cleveland, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) made eight saves in goal.  Przyojski had eight ground balls as Lourdes finished with a 19-17 edge in that category.
 
Lourdes (3-4, 1-4) remains home on Monday evening to play its final non-conference game of the season as the Gray Wolves entertain Thomas More.  The opening draw is set for 5 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.