VESTAL, NY- The Binghamton Wrestling team took down Drexel 22-12 Friday night in the West Gym. In true comeback fashion, the Bearcats won six out of the seven final bouts to secure the dual.
 
After dropping their first three matches, redshirt senior Dylan Caruana put the Bearcats on the board with a 2-0 decision win over David Pearce. Experiencing a "deja vu" like moment, head coach Matt Dernlan recalled a similar start against the Dragons last season.
 
"I was half joking with the guys saying we know the recipe to beat them is to spot them the first three matches," Dernlan said. "This is the exact same thing that happened last year. We gave up the first three matches right out of the gate and then found a way to come back."
 
Following that recipe, redshirt freshman Tristan Rifanburg entered his match at 157 with BU still down 12-3. In the first period, Rifanburg earned a quick takedown and four points by near fall. Up 6-0 going into the second period, Rifanburg tacked on another 10 back points to win by tech fall 4:11 into the match.
 
Stepping up next for BU, redshirt freshman Jake Einbinder continued the comeback, securing another tech fall 2:51 into his match against Dakota Greene. In that time, the 165-pounder accumulated his points for a 17-0 win with a takedown, 14 points by near fall and an extra point for ride time. In their combined efforts, the back-to-back wins put Binghamton up 13-12 to take their first lead of the night.
 
Using that momentum, the Bearcats went on to take the next three bouts to clinch the dual. Redshirt sophomore Anthony DePrez took a hard-earned 3-1 decision win after being down 1-0 in the second period, while junior Steve Schneider recorded four takedowns in a 10-3 match win. Schneider is ranked at No. 11 in the first NCAA coaches' panel released this morning. 
 
Redshirt sophomore Mark Tracy earned BU their final win of the night with an 8-3 decision over Joshua Murphy. Tied at two entering the third period, Tracy racked up three takedowns to finish the match. Murphy is currently ranked No. 33 at 197 by the NCAA coaches' panel.
 
"We've been talking a lot this week about where our character and our fight has to be," Dernlan said. "It was evident from top to bottom, even in the matches we were losing, that we were fighting and continuing to put them on their heels. The ten guys that are stepping up for us needed to go out and perform at their best and we did that tonight." 
 
With tonight's win, Dernlan's squad moves to 5-3 overall and 5-1 in EIWA. The Bearcats return to the West Gym this Sunday at 1 p.m. against Army. 
 

Final Results
HWT - Joey Goodhart (D) dec. Connor Calkins (BU), 6-2 - Drexel leads 3-0

125 - Tanner Shoap (D) dec. Steven Bulzomi (BU), 4-2 - Drexel leads 6-0

133 - Zack Fuentes (D) dec. Ian Lupole (BU), SV-1, 6-4 - Drexel leads 9-0

141 - Dylan Caruana (BU) dec. David Pearce (D), 2-0 - Drexel leads 9-3

149 - No. 18 Matt Cimato (D) dec. Parker Kropman (BU), 5-4 - Drexel leads 12-3

157 - Tristan Rifanburg (BU) tech fall Ryan O'Connor, 4:11 (16-0) - Drexel leads 12-8

165 - Jake Einbinder (BU) tech fall Dakota Greene (D), 2:51 (17-0) - BU leads 13-12

174 -  Anthony DePrez (BU) dec. Ebed Jarrell, 3 - BU leads 16-12

184 - No. 11 Steve Schneider (BU) dec. Alex DeCiantis, 10-3 - BU leads 19-12 (clinched)

197 - Mark Tracy (BU) dec. Joshua Murphy (D), 8-3 - BU wins 22-12