Feb. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- With a crippling snowstorm blanketing the campus of Penn State and the surrounding area, Northwestern and the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions squared off in Rec Hall in front of nearly 4,000 brave wrestling fans as PSU won a 37-10 decision Friday night. NU's wins came courtesy of Eric Metzler, Brian Roddy, Jr. and John Schoen, who won by 13-4 major decision at 197.
The Nittany Lions (11-5-1, 3-2) captured six of the nine contested bouts--with Northwestern (5-9-1, 0-4) being forced to forfeit the 10th at 141 pounds--and used the bonus points from two pins and a tech fall to open up its 27-point margin of victory. All six Penn State wrestlers who won matches Friday night are ranked at least as high as No. 13 in the nation at their respective weight classes.
With the dual season entering the home stretch, the Wildcats have set their sights squarely on the goal of winning each individual match to improve their seeding at the fast-approaching Big Ten Championships on March 6-7. Metzler, Roddy and Schoen each took a big step toward accomplishing that with wins on Friday against a PSU team coached by arguably the most successful college wrestler of all time in undefeated four-time NCAA champion Cael Sanderson.
Following a tech fall win by Penn State's Brad Pataky at 125, Metzler took on Bryan Pearsall and was able to gain a 4-2 lead in the second period with a quality reversal. Pearsall tied things up at four with a takedown in the third, but Metzler scored a one-point escape before notching a critical takedown to seize a lead he would not relinquish. Metzler improves to 2-2 in conference action with the victory.
NU surrendered six points with its forfeit at 141 before 13th-ranked Andrew Nadhir met No. 4 Frank Molinaro in the night's only bout between two ranked competitors. On this night it was Molinaro getting the better of Nadhir thanks in large part for a two-point near-fall in the first period that set the tone for the rest of the match. Molinaro eventually won a 9-0 decision to deal the Wildcat his first Big Ten loss and just his fifth of the 2009-10 season.
Penn State's strong middle weights padded PSU's lead as a pair of seventh-ranked wrestlers--Cyler Sanderson (157) and Dan Vallimont (165)--posted bonus-point wins over NU's Kevin Bialka and Robert Kellogg, respectively.
At 174, Roddy trailed by a 3-0 margin in the second period before scoring on an escape, but a big reversal out of the down position to start the third period pulled Roddy level at three. The match seemed destined for overtime until a perfect shot by Roddy with seven seconds left gave him a two-point takedown for the win, his second in three Big Ten bouts this year.
NU's final victory came at 197 where Schoen faced little resistance in taking down Steadman through the first two periods, amassing a 6-2 lead. He continued that trend into the third, winning 13-4 for his first conference victory of the year.
Northwestern must now battle that paralyzing snowstorm to reach its next destination, Columbus, Ohio, to take on an equally daunting foe in the fourth-ranked and defending NCAA runner-up Ohio State Buckeyes. Match time is set for 10 a.m. CT Sunday.
No. 12 Penn State 37, Northwestern 10
125: #13 Brad Pataky (PSU) Tech Fall Levi Mele (NU), 3:14 (PSU 5, NU 0)
133: Eric Metzler (NU) dec. Bryan Pearsall (PSU), 8-4 (PSU 5, NU 3)
141: Adam Lynch (PSU) win by forfeit (PSU 11, NU 3)
149: #4 Frank Molinaro (PSU) Maj. Dec. #13 Andrew Nadhir (NU), 9-0 (PSU 15, NU 3)
157: #7 Cyler Sanderson (PSU) FALL Kevin Bialka (NU), 1:59 (PSU 21, NU 3)
165: #7 Dan Vallimont (PSU) Maj. Dec. Robert Kellogg (NU), 21-9 (PSU 25, NU 3)
174: Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU) dec. Justin Ortega (PSU), 5-4 (PSU 25, NU 6)
184: #11 David Erwin (PSU) FALL Aaron Jones (NU), 2:27 (PSU 31, NU 6)
197: John Schoen (NU) Maj. Dec. Clay Steadman (PSU), 13-4 (PSU 31, NU 10)
285: #11 Cameron Wade (PSU) FALL Marcus Shrewsbury (NU), 1:29 (PSU 37, NU 10)