Northwestern received their first true test of the season last night, as they played host to Saucon Valley in a Colonial League showdown of two perennially tough wrestling teams. Eventually, the Panthers proved to be too much for the locals and pulled out the 38-19 win over the Tigers.

Despite plenty of big wins for NW, they had their hands full in what seemed to be every bout throughout the lineup. Head coach Jim Moll thought there were some highlights for his squad, in spite of the outcome."Saucon Valley is a really tough team," Moll mentioned. "Tonight was a test to see how we are, but we stress improvement throughout the year so we know where we need to go from here."The team match started at the 112-pound bout, where the visitors began their dominance. Brody Bisson tech-falled Brandon Lutton by a 16-1 score in two sessions and Will Jussino pinned David Grace to continue the flow in favor of SV (1-0).The locals' Ethan Keichel broke up the run with a 8-3 decision and teammate Michael Ortiz picked up a 13-0 decision at 130 to make things close at 11-7, in favor of the visitors.Dustin Badesso shut out Spencer Beaver at 135 to close the team score to 11-10, SV in the following match. However, that was as close as the Tigers would get, as Saucon picked up the next two wins to go up 20-10.NW couldn't get closer after that."Northwestern's a good team and they're well-coached," Saucon Valley head coach Chad Shirk admitted. "But we're happy to beat a good team in Northwestern."The only other wins for NW came for Bobby Clymer at 152, as he scored a 3-2 tight decision, and 285, where Alec Eidelman garnered a forfeit."I thought Michael Hontz wrestled really well for us," Moll said. "That was a tight match and he gave his opponent a good fight. Michael Ortiz and Bobby Clymer both wrestled well for us tonight, too."Saucon Valley 38, Northwestern 19103 - Bryan Israel (SV) dec. Cole Millen, 9-2;*112 - Brody Bisson (SV) tech. fall Brandon Lutton in 4:00, 16-1119 - Will Jusino (SV) pinned David Grace in :59125 - Ethan Keichel (NW) dec. Paul Sloand, 8-3130 - Michael Ortiz (NW) dec. Spencer Beaver, 13-0135 - Dustin Badesso (NW) dec. Andre Gaulsing, 4-0140 - Nate Gimbar (SV) dec. Michael Hontz, 6-4145 - Travis Buddock (SV) pinned Mitchell Evans in 1:04152 - Bobby Clymer (NW) dec. John Lynch, 3-2160 - Richard York (SV) dec. Kyle Sorenson, 8-5171 - Ray O'Donnell (SV) dec. Levi Veppert, 5-1189 - Ian Gimbar (SV) won by forfeit215 - Justin Blobe (SV) dec. Joseph Walker, 5-1285 - Alec Eidelman (NW) won by forfeit