MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team suffered a 27-19 defeat at the hands of No. 14 Northern Iowa on Sunday, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown.
 
The Mountaineers (1-2, 1-1) picked up a trio of bonus-point victories over the Panthers (1-1, 1-0), including two wins by fall. True freshman Caleb Rea earned his first dual-match victory of the season with a pin at 133 pounds, while redshirt senior Christian Monserrat captured a major decision at 149 pounds to remain undefeated in dual action. Redshirt junior Zachary Moore also won by fall at 157 pounds.
 
"We just have to get better," first-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Right now, we are not good enough to beat those teams. We had a couple chances against Cornell and the same thing with this match. We have our chances, and some guys have to take advantage of them. Maybe we are not quite ready to take advantage of them. We need more training."
 
West Virginia started the match in a 6-0 hole following a first-period pin by No. 20 Jacob Schwarm at 125 pounds. Rea stepped up in the next bout, though, tying the team score at 6-6 with a pin of Jacob Schipper in the final seconds of the third period.
 
With the team score knotted at six-all, true freshman Luke Martin put up a fight against No. 9 Josh Alber at 141 pounds. Martin used an early first-period takedown, but it wasn't enough, as Alber walked away with the 6-3 decision to put the Panthers on top at 9-6.
 
Monsserat regained the Mountaineers' lead with a major decision over Derek Holschlag at 149 pounds. Monserrat scored a quick takedown and two nearfall points in the first period for the 4-0 advantage. He then chose to start the second in the defensive position, earning an escape and adding another takedown for the 7-1 lead into the final frame. Holschlag escaped in the third, but Monserrat eventually notched his third takedown of the bout to remain in control, claiming the riding time point for the 10-2 victory.
 
Redshirt junior Zachary Moore made it two in a row for the Mountaineers, as he scored his fourth pin of the season at 157 pounds. Moore's first-period pin increased the Mountaineers' lead to seven at 16-9, with both squads taking a 10-minute intermission.
 
The Mountaineers then went head-to-head with a trio of Panthers ranked inside the top-10 nationally, dropping three consecutive matches at 165, 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, to give Northern Iowa the 23-16 advantage in the match.
 
Redshirt freshman Noah Adams fought a tough battle at 197, defeating Izaak Shedenhelm by decision to bring the Mountaineers within four, down 23-19. Adams added a first-period takedown, followed by two nearfall points and a reversal for a 6-3 lead. Shedenhelm remained scoreless in the second, as Adams escaped and recorded another takedown for the 9-3 advantage heading into the final frame. Adams added another takedown to his total in the third, eventually tacking on the riding time point for the 12-5 decision.
 
All eyes then turned to redshirt junior David Smith at heavyweight, as he went head-to-head with Carter Isley in the final bout of the day. However, the Mountaineers could not sustain the comeback, as Smith dropped a 10-1 major decision to Isley, giving Northern Iowa the 27-19 team victory.
 
Looking ahead, WVU travels to Pitt on Dec. 15 for a 7 p.m. dual against the Panthers. The longest-running series in WVU history, West Virginia has topped Pitt four times in the last five seasons, including last year. Following the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies to the WVU Coliseum on Dec. 19, at 7 p.m., before the team departs for a holiday break.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
 
No. 14 Northern Iowa 27, West Virginia 19
125: No. 20/20/- Jacob Schwarm (UNI) wins by fall KJ Fenstermacher (WVU), F 2:48
133: Caleb Rea (WVU) wins by fall Jacob Schipper (UNI), F 6:43
141: No. 8/9/9 Josh Alber (UNI) dec. Luke Martin (WVU), 6-3
149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) major dec. Derek Holschlag (UNI), 10-2
157: Zachary Moore (WVU) wins by fall Patrick Schoenfelder (UNI), F 2:23
165: No. 8/7/9 Bryce Steiert (UNI) dec. Nick Kiussis (WVU), 9-6
174: No. 9/9/9 Taylor Lujan (UNI) wins by fall Josh Ramirez (WVU), F 2:51
184: No. 9/11/10 Drew Foster (UNI) tech. fall Jackson Moomau (WVU), 19-0 [TF – 2:57]
197: Noah Adams (WVU) dec. Izaak Shedenhelm (UNI), 12-5
285: Carter Isley (UNI) major dec. David Smith (WVU), 10-1
 
Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat