BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Rutgers wrestling has proven it in a match decided in the final seconds of the final bout.
The problem Friday night was that Rutgers couldn’t get into that do-or-die situation.
No. 11 Lehigh stole an upset and a toss-up match on the way to winning at four of the first five weight classes as No. 12 Rutgers lost, 23-10, in front of a lively crowd at 1,788-seat Leeman-Turner Arena.
The former EIWA conference rivals met for the second straight year in the NWCA National Dual Championship Series, which pits eight Big Ten teams against eight non-Big Ten teams in a college bowl-like format. Purdue and Wisconsin chose not to enter.
“I love it,” Rutgers coach Scott Goodale said. “I don’t want to sit back (in Piscataway) and practice and do a pick-up match. I want to be in this environment. I want to win on the road. We need to win here. We’re going to keep coming back until we do. We need a signature win on the road. This is an important place to win at for me and our staff.”
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Rutgers (12-5) beat Lehigh (10-4) in 2013 and 2016 after losing 42 of the previous 43 meetings in the series. The last two were thrillers decided at heavyweight, with Rutgers product Billy Smith prevailing both times.
“I feel like we should put them on our schedule at this point,” Rutgers star Anthony Ashnault said. “Our fans, their fans, everyone wants to see the bout. Most of the guys on their team we wrestled growing up.”
With its only losses coming to Top 15 foes Penn State, Cornell, Michigan and Virginia Tech, Lehigh had the higher-ranked wrestler at six weights, including four where Rutgers countered with an unranked opponent.
Even with the benefit of a stunning upset from 174-pounder Jordan Pagano, Rutgers likely needed to win at least one – if not both – of the 149 and 157 bouts in order to set up another thriller.
Instead it was back-to-back heartbreak in the middle weight swing matches and another at 184.
“We didn’t win a toss-up bout and we lost to a couple backups,” Goodale said. “It just stings a little bit. Our mat savvy isn’t there for some of those guys and that’s got to change. This match should be a lot closer.”
A 3-3 tie at 149 was snapped when Lehigh’s No. 12 Laike Gardner was awarded one point for the second stalling call against No. 14 Ken Theobold.
Forced to get more aggressive to overcome his deficit, Theobold allowed a reversal at the start of the period and suffered a 7-3 defeat.
No. 17 John Van Brill looked to be in good shape for Rutgers – holding a 1-0 lead plus riding time – inside the final minute, but unranked Drew Longo scored a late reversal and undid just enough riding time to negate the would-be point.
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Rutgers challenged looking for a last-second escape point but coach Scott Goodale’s string of bad luck on replay challenges continued.
It sent Lehigh to a 13-3 lead and the near-sellout crowd packed at the tight quarters into a frenzy. By comparison, Rutgers’ College Avenue Gym lists a capacity of 1,500.
Some of those fans were on hand for Rutgers’ Brandon Paetzell, who enjoyed a homecoming even as a New Jersey native on the road.
The true freshman 125-pounder starred at Phillipsburg High School, which sits on the state border.
The lift didn’t help Paetzell, who suffered an 18-4 major decision loss to No. 5 Darian Cruz. Paetzell gutted through the final 48 seconds without giving up the point that would have resulted in a technical fall.
Scott DelVecchio put up a better fight against No. 9 Scott Parker at 133, but lost 4-2 on a third-period takedown and a riding time advantage.
As he often does, No. 5 Ashnault stopped any bleeding by beating No. 16 Randy Cruz in a matchup of All-Americans at 141. His 4-0 decision was his fourth-ranked and second-lowest scoring win of the season.
“It stinks that the team score didn’t work out the way we wanted,” Ashnault said. “But it’s a quality for win for me. A tough opponent, a familiar opponent. He’s really funky, and you have to know what you are going up against. I’ve been working hard in the defensive position and it worked out for me. I felt very dominant even though it was only 4-0.”
Ashnault’s was the only win for Rutgers until Pagano, who overook Phil Bakuckas as the starter at 174 only three weeks ago, earned the biggest win of his young career.
“It’s something I try to put out of my mind,” Pagano said, “but it’s there as soon as you step on the mat. It hits you: The match could come down to this, this kid’s ranked in the country, this could be a big win for me.”
Pagano, who was 2-2 against ranked opponents, announced himself as a contender in the Big Ten Championships by beating No. 4 Ryan Preisch, 10-4, on the strength of three takedowns and two back points.
Coming off a brilliant Senior Day moment, Bakuckas took the mat at 184 as Goodale shook up his lineup by bumping one of his top wrestlers, Nicholas Gravina, to 197 in an attempt to rally from a 17-6 deficit. The decision also safeguarded 197-pounder Matthew Correnti from a nagging injury.
Bakuckas lost 2-1 in the second tiebreaker period, however, clinching the match for Lehigh and rendering Gravina’s 11-2 decision inconsequential. Razohnn Gross finished with a 3-1 loss in sudden victory.
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook
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