Hofstra junior Jon Andriac recorded a fall and James Strouse, Mike Patrovich and Joe Rovelli tallied decisions but the Pride couldn't overcome an early 20-0 deficit as the 11th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (10-5-1) downed the 20th-ranked Pride (10-8-1) 26-15 in the first match of the ESPNU Double Sport Invitational at the Ford Center Sunday afternoon.
The Pride fell behind early as freshman Jon Fennell (0-11) was pinned at the 2:33 mark of the 125-pound match and Oklahoma sophomore Trey Blakely took a forfeit win at 133-pounds to give the Sooners a 12-0 lead. At 141 pounds, OU's second-ranked senior Teyon Ware (19-1) took a 10-2 lead in the final period on the way to a 19-3 tech fall over #12 Charles Griffin (21-6) to boost the Sooners lead to 17-0.
In a top 10 match-up at 149 pounds, Hofstra senior Jon Masa, ranked fourth, took on Oklahoma's ninth-ranked Matt Sorniolo. After a scoreless period, Masa (26-7) posted an escape in the second for a 1-0 lead heading into the final period. But it was all Storniolo (21-2) in the third as the junior All-American tallied an escape, a takedown and a near-fall for a 6-1 victory and a 20-0 lead in the match.
Hofstra junior James Strouse ended the OU run with a 7-3 decision over Sooner freshman Shane Vernon (4-6) at 157 pounds. Strouse, 24-10 on the year, took a 4-3 lead into the third period and posted an escape and a takedown to secure the victory. Hofstra freshman Alton Lucas squared off against OU freshman Jarrod King at 165 pounds and looked like he was going to extend the Hofstra win streak, taking a 4-2 lead into the third period. But King pulled out a takedown in the waning seconds to send the match in to overtime at 5-5. King (15-8) caught Lucas (10-6) backing up and took him down with 14 seconds remaining in sudden victory for the win and a 23-3 advantage in the contest.
Pride senior Mike Patrovich put Hofstra back on track with a 5-3 physical victory over Sooner senior Wes Roberts (8-4) at 174 pounds. Tied at 2-2 heading into the third period, Patrovich posted an escape and a takedown in the final period to improve to 25-3 on the year. Sophomore Joe Rovelli (23-9) closed the match deficit to 23-9 with a 6-4 decision over OU junior Justin Dyer (16-9). Trailing 4-2 heading into the third after riding Dyer out in the second, Rovelli posted a near-fall and took the riding time point for the win.
Oklahoma junior Joel Flaggert (18-2) ended Hofstra's win streak with a 10-6 decision over Pride junior Chris Weidman (15-7). Flaggert, ranked fifth at 197 pounds, jumped out to an 8-3 lead after one period and never looked back to give the Sooners a 26-9 advantage. Hofstra junior Jon Andriac shocked the Ford Center crowd with a pin of Oklahoma's fifth-ranked senior Jake Hager 55 seconds into the heavyweight match. Andriac improved to 21-12 on the year while Hager slipped to 24-3.
The Pride will return to action on February 20th when they close out the CAA regular season schedule at Rider University at 7 p.m. After that, the Pride will compete in the CAA Championships at Drexel University in Philadelphia on March 3-4.
#11 Oklahoma26, #20 Hofstra 15
125 - #2 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) WBF Jon Fennell (HU) 2:33
133 - Trey Blakely (OU) win by forfeit
141 - #2 Teyon Ware (OU) tech fall #12 Charles Griffin (HU) 19-3 (7:00)
149 - #9 Matt Storniolo (OU) dec. #4 Jon Masa (HU) 6-1
157 - #14 James Strouse 9HU) dec. Shane Vernon (OU) 7-3
165 - #14 Jarrod King (OU) dec. Alton Lucas (HU) 7-5 in SV
174 - #6 Mike Patrovich (HU) dec. #12 Wes Roberts (OU) 5-3
184 - #19 Joe Rovelli (HU) dec. #13 Justin Dyer (OU) 6-4
197 - #5 Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. Chrris Weidman (HU) 10-6
285 - Jon Andriac (HU) WBF #5 Jake Hager (OU) 0:55
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