Pioneers come close but Hofstra secures the EIWA victory, 21-15

Sacred Heart’s Brendan Gilchrist celebrates after his last-second pin in Thursday night’s EIWA match against Hofstra in Fairfield. (Nicholas Bostico photo courtesy Sacred Heart Athletics)

The Sacred Heart men’s wrestling team is close. But they can’t get over the hump yet for their first win of the season.

Earlier this month in Durham, the Pioneers had a 15-point lead on the road but Duke rallied to earn a one-point victory, 18-18.

On Thursday night, Hofstra outlasted Sacred Heart, 21-15 in an EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) bout that went down to the final match at the Pitt Center in Fairfield.

The visiting Pride won five of the first six matches of the bout to build an 18-6 lead. But the Pioneers rallied with three straight victories to ensure that the final bout at 165 pounds would decide the match.

Leading by three, 18-15, Hofstra’s Jake Slotnick got a pair of escapes for a 2-0 lead and held off Sacred Heart’s A.J. Falcone to secure the win for Hofstra, the first win of the season for the Pride (1-2).

Hofstra won the first three bouts of the match to take a 10-0 lead. In match three, Hofstra’s Will Conlon beat Sacred Heart’s Chris DeLena, 2-1 in two overtimes.

At 285 pounds, Norwalk’s Brendan Gilchrist injected some life into the Pitt Center with a pin of Danny Church in the final seconds to cut the Hofstra lead to four, 10-6. It was the first win of the season for Gilchrist and his sixth career pin at the collegiate level.

Hofstra extended their lead to five, 15-6, with Teague Strobel’s win by technical fall at 125. At 133, Hofstra’s Gauge Shipp had four minutes of riding time to beat Braxton Fries-Appello, 1-0 and extend the lead to 12 points, 18-6.

Sacred Heart’s rally began with John Hildebrandt at 141 pounds. Trailing 2-0 after two periods, Hildebrandt escaped early in the third period and got a takedown with 52 seconds left to take a 4-1 lead over Hofstra’s Joe Sparacio. Hildebrandt prevailed 4-2.

At 149, Dakota Asuncion beat Hofstra’s Zach Reilly, 7-2 and at 157, Sacred Heart’s Felix Lettini got a takedown in overtime after an extended scramble to earn a 4-1decision. That cut the Hofstra lead to three, 18-15 with one match remaining.

Slotnick leads Hofstra in victories so far this season. He is 7-2 after his win over Falcone in the final bout of the evening. The loss extends Sacred Heart’s dual meet losing streak to 19, dating back to last year.

Sacred Heart will host Davidson College (0-0) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Pitt Center.

Hofstra 21, Sacred Heart 15
At Fairfield
174: Jurius Clark (H) dec. Aidan Zarella, 4-1
184: Matthew Waddell (H) dec. Hunter Perez, 14-5
197: Will Conlon (H) dec. Chris DeLena, 2-1, 2 OT
285: Brendan Gilchrist (SH) pin Danny Church, 7:00
125: Teague Strobel (H) tech fall Caden Smith, 17-1, 5:51
133: Gauge Shipp (H) dec. Braxton Fries-Appello, 1-0
141: John Hildebrandt (SH) dec. Joe Sparacio, 4-3
149: Dakota Asuncion (SH) dec. Zach Reilly, 7-2
157: Felix Lettini (SH) dec. Frank Volpe, 4-1, OT
165: Jake Slotnick (H) dec. AJ Falcone, 2-1
Records: Sacred Heart 0-2, 0-1 EIWA Independence; Hofstra 1-2, 1-0 EIWA Independence