Wrestling | 2/9/2020 6:44:00 PM

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Bloomsburg University wrestling team got off to a slow start on Sunday afternoon and was edged at Sacred Heart University, 18-17, in a non-conference dual. The Huskies dropped to 3-7 overall - 1-4 away from home - while the Pioneers improved to 7-3 on the season.

Bloomsburg lost the first three bouts of the day, and four of the first five, as the Pioneers raced out to a 12-3 advantage through the first half of the dual. With the afternoon starting at 165 pounds, senior Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) was the lone Huskies' grappler to earn a victory in the opening five matches as he defeated Robert Hetherman, 3-1, at 197 pounds for his third consecutive win. The senior snapped a 1-1 tie with the lone takedown of the match with less than 20 seconds left in the final period. Murphy improved to 9-12 on the year with the victory.

Among the losses in the opening half was redshirt senior Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) who suffered a 7-5 decision at the hands of Kyle Davis at 184 pounds. Allard, who was ranked 11th in the initial NCAA Coaches Panel poll, suffered just his second loss of the season as he dropped to 18-2 overall. The setback snapped a nine-match winning streak for Allard, who hadn't lost since his only setback of the year - a 6-2 loss to Army West Point's Noah Stewart in the title match at the Black Knight Invitational back on November 17.

Freshman Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) got the Huskies back in the match with an 11-1 major decision over Sean Faraon at 125 pounds to cut the Pioneers' advantage to 12-7. Gannone evened his record at 10-10 overall with the win and has won eight of his last eleven bouts. Redshirt freshman Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) followed with the afternoon's only pin which gave the Huskies their first lead of the day at 13-12. The redshirt freshman needed only 15 seconds to pick up his second fall of the weekend - ninth of the season - as his record improved to 14-6 on the year.

The Pioneers, however, bounced back with victories at 141 and 149 to retake an 18-13 lead heading into the final match of the day.

Sophomore Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) needed a technical fall to tie or a fall at 157 pounds to win the match for the Huskies and gave it a valiant effort as he earned an 11-0 major decision victory over Shaun Williams to close out the day. However, the major decision wasn't quite enough as the Pioneers held on for the one-point victory. Carida's win moved his record to 13-8 overall on the year.

The Huskies will return to action on Friday, February 14, when they host Cleveland State University in their final home dual of the 2019-20 season. Action gets underway shortly after 7:00 p.m. as Bloomsburg will honor four seniors prior to the start of the match - Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico), Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville), and Anthony Vetrano (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North).

SACRED HEART 18, BLOOMSBURG 17
165: Brandon Levesque (SHU) decision over Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) (BLOOM), 9-2
174: Joe Accousti (SHU) decision over Anthony Vetrano (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) (BLOOM), 3-2
184: Kyle Davis (SHU) decision over #11 Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) (BLOOM), 7-5 (SV-1)
197: Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) (BLOOM) decision over Robert Hetherman (SHU), 3-1
285: Connor Fredericks (SHU) decision over Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) (BLOOM), 6-4
125: Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) (BLOOM) major decision over Sean Faraon (SHU), 11-1
133: Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) (BLOOM) fall over Kyle Randall (SHU), 0:15
141: Gerard Daly (SHU) decision over Marlon Argueta-Diaz (Meriden, Conn./Orville H. Platt) (BLOOM), 11-8
149: Nick Palumbo (SHU) decision over Aaron Coleman (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) (BLOOM), 8-4
157: Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) (BLOOM) major decision over Shaun Williams (SHU), 11-0