Just days after their win against George Mason University Hofstra’s wrestling team fell to Drexel University 16-19. The dual, hosted at home on Feb. 5th, is the Pride’s 5th dual meet loss against an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) opponent, making their overall record 3-5. Drexel remains undefeated in league action, with a 6-0 record.
“We blew it,” said Hofstra wrestling head coach Dennis Papadatos, “We didn’t finish at all.”
The team started the dual off strong with wins at the first three weight classes.
At 125 pounds Jacob Moon beat Antonio Mininno in an incredibly close match. The two went into overtime tied at 5 after Mininno earned a last-second takedown with Moon’s back exposed but no points were given. In overtime, Moon secured a takedown to walk away with the win.
Next up Chase Liardi faced John Hildebrandt to earn his second win of the weekend. Liardi dominated the match, winning 9-1, with the last two points coming from riding time and a point for Hildebrandt’s stalling to push the match up to a major decision win.
Justin Hoyle also earned his second win of the weekend at 141 pounds against Jordan Soriano. The match went into overtime as well after Hoyle earned two takedowns and Soriano earned four escapes to tie the match 4-4. There, Hoyle defended Soriano’s shot attempt to get a takedown of his own to step off the mat with a win.
The final two wins came at the end of the dual at 197 and 285 pounds. No. 30 Trey Rogers earned his 7th consecutive win beating Sean O’Malley 7-3. Rogers scored with multiple takedowns on top of multiple other shot attempts. And at heavyweight, Zachary Knighton-Ward took on Tino Morina looking for a pin to tie up the dual. Knighton-Ward did not get the pin but put on a good performance regardless with  multiple takedowns as well as attempts to take Morina to his back.
Drexel came into the meet with multiple ranked guys who helped secure their win, including No. 27 Brian Bonino. He took on No. 23 Jacob Ferriera in a highly anticipated match-up with EIWA championship seeding implications. The match was incredibly close with both wrestlers earning just one point each from escapes to go into overtime. There Bonnino earned the takedown to win the match.
The Dragons also brought No. 5 Mickey O’Malley at 174 pounds. O’Malley faced Ross McFarland, who lost to O’Malley just 0-2 in the 2020-21 season. In today’s rematch, McFarland kept the match close again, falling just 2-6 and working for a takedown until the end.
Hofstra’s two other losses came at the hands of ranked wrestlers including Michael Leandrou losing to No. 24 Luke Nicheter 0-11 at 149 pounds and Eric Shindel falling to No. 18 Evan Barczak in a 6-21 tech fall at 165 pounds. Finally, at 149 pounds Joe McGinty lost to Dom D’Agostino 0-11.
Hofstra is now 19-20 against Drexel, with the teams next competitions taking place on Feb. 11 against Harvard University and Sacred Heart University. The Pride will be home again on the 18th for their final dual of the season before the EIWA championships.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein
