Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Drexel
Wrestling Drops 21-20 Heartbreaker to Drexel
January 25, 2015 | Wrestling
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WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army wrestling team dropped a 21-20 heartbreaking match to Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) opponent Drexel on Sunday afternoon at Hayes Gymnasium. The Dragons won the match by criteria, outscoring the Black Knights 48-43 in total match points.
"I thought our effort was good," said head coach Kevin Ward. "It may have been the most excited and inspired our guys have been all year. I liked the bonus points we had."
Starting at the 149-pound weight class, Drexel jumped out on top by three as Matthew Cimato earned a 6-2 decision over freshman Andrew Mendel. The Dragons then extended the lead to six as sophomore Russell Parsons dropped a heartbreaker to Noel Blanco, 3-1, in extra time.
Senior Chandler Smith kept Army alive with a big 12-3 major decision over Nick Elmer at 165 pounds to cut the Drexel lead to just two. The Black Knights got a huge boost at 174 when junior Brian Harvey tallied his fourth pin of the season over Stephen Loiseau to put Army on top, 10-6.
Army went up by seven with a 5-2 decision for sophomore Samson Imonode over Jason Fugiel at the 184-pound weight class. Junior Bryce Barnes then gave the Black Knights a bonus point victory at 197 with a 12-4 major decision over Joshua Murphy.
Trailing 17-6, Drexel got six points from Joey Goodhart with a pin against sophomore David Farr at the heavyweight class to bring the Dragons within five points of the Black Knights. The Black Knights came up just short in extra time again at 125 with Eric Ochoa taking a 6-2 decision over freshman Sean Badua to make it 17-15 Army.
Kevin Devoy, ranked 16th by InterMat at 133, put Drexel back on top by three with a 17-0 tech. fall over sophomore Christian Doyle. The match came down to the last bout, sophomore Logan Everett versus David Pearce, at the 141-pound weight class.
Everett tied the match up at 20 with a 9-7 decision, but criteria favored the Dragons, giving Drexel the win.
"It was a tough way to lose a dual meet," Ward continued. "I thought our effort overall was pretty strong today. For us to win dual meets, we're going to have to score bonus points. With the guys we have on our roster and in our lineup, we have to score bonus points to win dual meets. When we had a chance to get them today, I felt like our guys did."
The Black Knights have a week off before heading to Great Neck, N.Y., for the All-Academy Championships on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Drexel 21, Army 20
Criteria (Match Points: Drexel 48, Army 43)
149: Matthew Cimato (D) dec. Andrew Mendel, 6-2
157: Noel Blanco (D) dec. Russell Parsons, 3-1
165: Chandler Smith (A) maj. dec. Nick Elmer, 12-3
174: Brian Harvey (A) pinned Stephen Loiseau (6:25)
184: Samson Imonode (A) dec. Jason Fugiel, 5-2
197: Bryce Barnes (A) maj. dec. Joshua Murphy, 12-4
285: Joey Goodhart (D) pinned David Farr (2:03)
125: Eric Ochoa (D) dec. Sean Badua, 6-2
133: Kevin Devoy (D) tech. fall Christian Doyle, 17-0
141: Logan Everett (A) dec. David Pearce, 9-7
Players Mentioned
