EDINBORO, Pa. (Nov. 6, 2014) – Pittsburgh ran off wins in the final five matches to hand Edinboro a 25-13 defeat on Thursday night at McComb Fieldhouse. Edinboro, ranked tenth in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, was wrestling its first dual and is now 0-1. The Panthers, ranked 14th, improved to 2-0 on the young season. A large crowd of 1,752 took in the match.

As always, the matchup between the former EWL rivals was hotly-contested, although the final outcome was not as close as the last two years. Pittsburgh won by a point in 2012-13 and Edinboro by a point in 2013-14.

Both teams were missing key nationally-ranked wrestlers, with Edinboro's Dave Habat and Pitt's Troy Wilps out at 149 and 174 lbs., respectively. The match turned on an upset in the very first match at 125 lbs., along with the Panthers claiming several swing matches.
 

Freshman Dom Forys upset Mines, who came in ranked 18th by InterMat, in the opening bout of the evening. Forys registered a takedown with just under a minute left in the opening period, then added an escape and takedown in the second period. He would rise out Mines in the third period to finish with a 6-0 decision. Mines dropped to 5-2 with the setback.
 
Edinboro ran off bonus point wins in the next two matches behind All-Americans A.J. Schopp and Mitchell Port. Schopp won a 10-0 major decision over Nick Zanetta at 133 lbs. in a match that appeared to have Schopp winning by fall late in the first period. He would use the five-point takedown and near fall in the final 12 seconds for a 5-0 lead. He picked up a pair of penalty points in the second period and ended it with two back points. Schopp would ride out Zanetta in the third period as he had 4:11 in riding time. He boosted his career record to 108-14.
 
Port was able to pick up the fall that eluded Schopp at 141 lbs. The redshirt senior took a 4-0 lead over Travis Shaffer thanks to a first period takedown and second period reversal. Schaffer chose the top to start the third, and Port quickly ended the match with a reversal and the quick pin. The official end came at 5:10. Port is now 6-0 on the season and 102-15 for his career.
 

With Habat, Edinboro's third returning All-American, missing from the lineup, freshman Jensen Lorea faced 13th-ranked Mikey Racciato. He proved a game competitor but would lose a 12-4 major decision as Pittsburgh closed the gap to 10-7.
 
The most entertaining match of the night took place at 157 lbs., as Austin Matthews made his debut in front of the home fans at McComb Fieldhouse. Ranked 14th by InterMat, the Clarion transfer improved to 6-0 as he rallied for a 7-4 decision over Ronnie Garbinsky. The match was even at 2-0 after one period, before Garbinsky was awarded a penalty point and an escape for a 4-2 lead.
 
Matthews' escape 30 seconds into the third period closed the gap to 4-3. He then finished the comeback with a takedown with five seconds remaining, picking up two near fall points at the buzzer. That gave Edinboro a 13-7 advantage.
 
The next two matches were key swing matches, with Pittsburgh claiming both. At 165 lbs., Casey Fuller dropped a 5-3 decision to Cory Wiercioch in another bout that went down to the final seconds. A second period takedown gave Wiercioch a 3-1 lead. Fuller closed to 3-2 early in the third period. Pressing for the winning takedown, he would give up the clinching takedown with seven seconds left. Fuller dropped to 5-2.
 
Patrick Jennings took the mat at 174 lbs. in place of starter Zach Towers. Last year's regular also fell in the final moments, dropping a 6-4 decision to Troy Reaghard. The match featured three penalty points, with the second one knotting the match for Jennings a 3-3 early in the third period.
 
Jennings (7-2) claimed a 4-3 lead with an escape with 1:31 remaining, but he was called for stalling with 23 seconds to go. Reaghard registered the winning takedown with 12 seconds remaining to knot the match at 13-13.
 
The feature match of the night came at 184 lbs., with 12th-ranked Vic Avery looking for the upset over sixth-ranked Max Thomusseit. A year ago Thomusseit won 4-1 in the dual and 7-6 at Nationals.
 
Thomusseit would grab a 2-0 lead with a takedown with just under a minute remaining in the opening period. An Avery reversal with 16 seconds left made it 2-2. Thomusseit regained the lead with an escape and a penalty point for a 4-2 lead after two periods. In the third period Avery would escape early, but saw his hopes for the upset denied with a penalty point for fleeing the mat with 1:07 remaining. The loss dropped the redshirt junior to 4-1.
 
Pittsburgh's Nick Bonaccorsi, ranked 12th, claimed a 4-1 decision over Vince Pickett at 197 lbs. He recorded the lone takedown of the bout with just over a minute left in the first period and added an escape and riding time. Pickett is now 5-2.
 
Undersized Warren Bosch, moving up from 197 lbs., took the mat for Edinboro at heavyweight against John Rizzo. Bosch proved a spirited competitor, taking a 2-0 lead with back points in the second period. The end came swiftly, however, as Rizzo reversed Bosch late in the period with the fall coming moments later. Rizzo's pin at 4:53 dropped Bosch to 1-3.
 
Edinboro will returns to action on Saturday, November 15 at the EMU Duals. The Fighting Scots are scheduled to face Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and ninth-ranked Michigan.         
  
#14 PITTSBURGH 25, #10 EDINBORO 13
Thursday, November 6, 2014
McComb Fieldhouse
Edinboro, Pa.
                                                                                                                                                          
125 lbs. – Dom Forys (UP) dec. #18 Kory Mines (EU) 6-0                                                 
133 lbs. – #1 A.J. Schopp (EU) maj. dec. Nick Zanetta (UP) 10-0                                   
141 lbs. -- #2 Mitchell Port (EU) fall over Travis Shaffer (UP) 5:10                                               
149 lbs. – #13 Mikey Racciato (UP) maj. dec. Jensen Lorea (EU) 12-4                        
157 lbs. -- #14 Austin Matthews (EU) dec. Ronnie Garbinsky (UP) 7-4                      
165 lbs. – Cody Wiercioch (UP) dec. Casey Fuller (EU) 5-3                                              
174 lbs. – Troy Reaghard (UP) dec. Patrick Jennings (EU) 6-5                                        
184 lbs. -- #6 Max Thomusseit (UP) dec. #12 Vic Avery (EU) 5-3                                  
197 lbs. – #12 Nick Boinnacorsi (UP) dec. Vince Pickett (EU) 4-1                                  
Hwt. – John Rizzo (UP) fall over Warren Bosch (EU) 4:53                                                               
 
RECORDS:            Edinboro              0-1
                             Pittsburgh            2-0