PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 13 Rutgers wrestling (4-1, 0-0) dominated in-state rival Princeton (0-2), 24-9, on Friday night in front of 5,049 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Wrestling for the B1G-IVY Trophy, the Scarlet Knights worked a 7-3 match split with the Tigers, which included ranked wins from No. 8 John Poznanski (197) and No. 12 Brian Soldano (184), and bonus-point victories from No. 16 Mitch Moore (141), No. 26 Dylan Shawver (134) and No. 29 Jackson Turley (174).

It marked the 47th victory all-time in the series and the 25th win for RU in its last 26 matchups with the Tigers.

"Obviously, this is a rivalry match, and it some instances, maybe it was a little more closer than it should have been," said head coach Scott Goodale. "There was a lot of adversity throughout the week, but I am so proud of the way these guys wrestled hard tonight."
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Peterson opened with Drew Heethuis and landed the first takedown of the night for an early 3-1 after the first period. Peterson landed another takedown in the second to finish with a 7-3 win. The victory kept Peterson undefeated and gave Rutgers a quick 3-0 lead over Princeton.
• Shawver was in full control of his match with Sean Pierson, landing six takedowns en route to a 19-6 major decision.
• Moore faced Tyler Vasquez and landed a takedown and three near fall off a front headlock for a quick 6-0 lead. Moore continued to dictate the pace, as he muscled more than three minutes of riding time for a 13-2 major decision. Back-to-back bonus points from Moore and Shawver made it 11-0 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
• Michael Cetta (149) earned the start against Elijah Rivera, with Rivera needing a takedown in sudden victory for Princeton's first win of the night. Clark followed against Rocco Camillaci and used two takedowns and two minutes of riding time for a 9-4 decision. At the break, Rutgers led, 14-3.
• After a tough loss from No. 25 Anthony White (165) out of the break, Turley faced Mikey Squires and caught the Tiger on his back early and often to work a 17-6 major decision with more than three minutes of riding time.
• Soldano faced No. 23 Nate Dugan and landed a quick inside trip in the second period for the takedown. Dugan followed with a late takedown in the final seconds of the third to tie the match at 4-4, but Soldano's riding time point proved to be the difference, as his decision sealed the dual for Rutgers with two bouts to go.
• Poznanski faced two-time NCAA qualifier and No. 10 Luke Stout in the match of the night. Stout scored first, but Poznanski remained calm with two takedowns in the match - including one at the buzzed that sent the crowd at Jersey Mike's Arena into a frenzy.
• John O'Donnell (HWT) made his JMA dual debut against NCAA qualifier Matt Cover and wrestled hard in his loss. 

BOX SCORE

No. 13 Rutgers 24, Princeton 9
125: 7/9 Dean Peterson (RU) over Drew Heethuis (PU) by dec., 7-3; RU leads, 3-0
133: 26/28 Dylan Shawver (RU) over Sean Pierson by MD, 19-6; (PU); RU leads, 7-0
141: 16/21 Mitch Moore (RU) over Tyler Vasquez (PU) by MD, 13-2; RU leads, 11-0
149: Eligh Rivera (PU) over Michael Cetta (RU) by SV1, 4-1; RU leads, 11-3
157: 24/20 Andrew Clark (RU) over Rocco Camillaci (PU) by dec., 9-4; RU leads, 14-3
165: Blaine Bergey (PU) over 25/29 Anthony White (RU) by SV1, 5-4; RU leads, 14-6
174: 29/23 Jackson Turley (RU) over Mikey Squires (PU) by MD, 17-6; RU leads, 18-6
184: 12/18 Brian Soldano (RU) over 23/29 Nate Dugan (PU) by dec., 5-4; RU leads, 21-6
197: 8/13 John Poznanski (RU) over 10/10 Luke Stout (PU) by dec., 8-4; RU leads, 24-6
HWT: Matt Cover (PU) over John O'Donnell (RU) by dec., 3-1; RU wins, 24-9
 

UP NEXT

Rutgers hosts back-to-back home duals on Friday, December 8 against Princeton (6 p.m.) and Sunday, December 10 against Buffalo (2 p.m.).
 

Post Match Quotes

Head Coach Scott Goodale
On what Mitch Moore brings to the team, and if he adds and extra edge in the room:
"I think he adds it out on the mat. In our room we are well aware of what he's capable of doing, and we're developing. It's very similar to Brian (Soldano), believe it or not, we spend a lot of time developing leg attacks. We're trying to leg attack, because at the end of the day, we're going to need one, we're going to need one in March and we know that. His front heads will always be there, his pancakes will always be there, all that stuff will definitely be on the mat wrestling. Both of them, kind of from the same old. They're very, very nasty and they're very, very physical and mean, and they wrestle that way. I think in our room, it's kind of known, so it's not a big deal. He takes the mat and wrestles and we are not shocked by both guys."

On preparation for the year and how it has translated into matches:
"Spent a lot of time in the summer, getting better there. Spend a lot of time this whole year getting better. There's a lot of little things that are taking place. There's a lot of knock downs, there's a lot of big strong rides. I think we still got to lift people, we got caught up at 165 because he banged us for stalling and then we just let him go. He dictated the match there, and we have to be better there. But there's a lot of little things. I knew if he (John Poznanski) got to a single wrist, he was gonna ride him out and when you ride a guy out for a minute and twenty even though we didn't get riding time, it takes a toll on the rest of the match and you only have 40 seconds to score on him so that was a huge huge ride. Little things like that win big matches and I think it's very important. I think that guy Stout is a hell of a competitor. I think that whole team competes hard. I have nothing but respect for that program. There's a lot of respect for that program. But those guys wrestle really, really hard. And I know they got some guys sitting out, but they wrestled really, really hard. So I do have respect for that program. But there's emotions because of some of the things that went down social media wise, which we should stay out of, and some of the things that we faced over the course of the week that's why it's pretty emotional." 

197 Pounder John Poznanski
On his big win
"Right off the bat I was a little slow. He got the takedown there. But I knew if I kept my pressure on him, kept pulling on his head and kept moving forward. I feel really good."

On giving up the early takedown.
"Yeah. There's six minutes and fifty seconds left. So I knew if I kept pushing and kept going forward, I'll get to my attacks and come out on top."

141 Pounder Mitch Moore
On his first impression of the rivalry as a member of the Scarlet Knights
"It reminds me a lot of Oklahoma (vs.) Oklahoma State. You know, big in-state match. The atmosphere tonight was awesome, I love the energy. I love to see Goody (Scott Goodale) getting chippy, I love to see Brian (Soldano) getting chippy. Poz (John Poznanski) is just an animal, I think he is the most horrifying wrestler I've ever seen before in my life. I wouldn't want to wrestle him."