It is likely that it will not go down in history with the same notoriety as the original 1770 episode, or the less violent 1978 version spurred on by Bucky Dent, but the Binghamton Wrestling team came out the victors in a Boston Massacre of their own Saturday, rallying from a 14-0 deficit to topple Boston University 25-17 on the road at Case Gym.
With this win over their Colonial Athletic Association opponents, the Bearcats pushed their record Division I win streak to four games. Their overall record improved to 9-9, the first time they have been at .500 this season since they were 2-2 on Dec. 2.
This time, head coach Pat Popolizio feels his team is on the right track to improve on that mark.
‘It was a great win for our program, obviously,’ Popolizio said. ‘Where we’re at and the level that Boston is at says a lot about the direction we’re heading.’
The Terriers, who fell to 8-7 overall after their loss, looked like they were on track to snap Binghamton’s win streak with early victories at the 125, 133 and 141 weight classes. Down 14-0, the Bearcats were in an unenviable position and sent junior Kyle Fried out to face off against talented Boston sophomore Mike Roberts, who led his team last season with a 22-6 record. The Terriers were ready to pounce on the reeling Binghamton squad, but Fried had other ideas and battled his way to an 8-7 decision.
‘It says a lot about the kind of person Kyle Fried is to come out in the situation we were in and beat someone at the level that the Boston kid is ‘ that was a key match that we needed and he got the job done,’ Popolizio said.
Sophomore Nate Patterson followed up Fried’s performance by continuing the Patterson family domination, winning an 8-0 decision.
Down 17-7 and with four matches to go, the Bearcats decided that playtime was over and sent out the big guns, starting with freshman Josh Patterson who recorded a pin in a paltry 1:32 at the 174 weight class. The victory improved his record to 24-7 overall, including a commanding 15-3 in duals. Not to be outdone, freshman Corey Waite also posted a big win in the 184 weight class, doing so in 6:23.
‘Those were two big pins by Josh and Corey,’ Popolizio said. ‘Corey was losing his match with 35 seconds left before he pinned the guy.’
Freshman Ed Backus and junior Mike Patterson wrapped things up with decisions at the 197 and 285 weight classes, respectively.
The match against Boston was a significant challenge in anticipation of this weekend’s upcoming stretch of three matches. The first of these matches will be on Thursday night against American University in the West Gym; Popolizio spent the last two years as the head assistant coach at American and he expects emotions to run high.
‘I did a lot as far as training them, so I know it’s going to be a dogfight with the type of kids they have. It will be an exciting match, definitely a lot of emotions involved, but we’re still looking to get the upset and win against American.’