It didn't take long for WPI to get on the board this season. Senior co-captain Nick Fluet scored his first of three touchdowns on the night just 3:23 into the contest to lead the Engineers to a 40-14 rout of U-Mass Lowell. Played under the lights at Alumni Field, the non-conference game was the first of the season for both teams.
After Fluet (Leominster, MA) scampered in from 4 yards out, junior Josh Morrison added the extra point and a 32-yard field goal later in the quarter. The River Hawks made a charge in the second quarter, blocking a punt that resulted in a safety, and scoring on a 2-yard QB sneak. An attempted two-point conversion came up just short, leaving the score 10-8.
WPI finished off the first-half scoring when senior QB Joe Golec (Methuen, MA) found Fluet for a 34-yard TD strike, the first touchdown pass of his career. At halftime, the Engineers led 17-8, a lead that would prove to be too much for the visitors to overcome.
Another 32-yard field goal by Langdon, NH native Morrison increased the home team's lead to a dozen, until UML squeaked another 2-yard run into the endzone. That was the last time the visitors would put any points on the board, but WPI was not done yet.
The Engineers racked up two touchdowns in the following 1:53. Two-sport star Eric Thiboutot (Nashua, NH) shot up the middle, and the junior FB found himself all alone in a 49-yard touchdown dash. Senior DB and Schenectady, NY native Mike DiCaprio then returned an interception 17 yards to set up the next play, a 27-yard pass from Golec to junior WR Mark Vandette (North Attleboro, MA) with 0:04 remaining in the quarter.
Junior QB Chris Busso (Smithtown, NY) finished off the scoring with a 27-yard pass to none other than Fluet, who finished the night with two catches for a total of 61 yards, both for touchdowns. The running back was even more impressive on the ground, gaining 147 yards with one touchdown. That total pushed him up to 2,024 career rushing yards at WPI, good enough for fourth place in school history.
While the Engineers had the edge on the scoreboard, UML certainly had its chances. The River Hawks controlled the ball for almost 36 minutes, while WPI only used 24:08. They also rushed for more yards, tallying 267 yards to WPI's 257. The key numbers, however, were turnovers. DiCaprio and Ashaway, RI native Matt Cardinal had interceptions, while senior co-captain Jeff Martin recovered a UML fumble. WPI also had a huge advantage in average yards per play - moving ahead 7.8 yards each time, while UML only managed 4.2.
On the defensive side, Martin (Fairhaven, MA) had a huge game. He had 16 tackles total (6 unassisted and one for a 4-yard loss), and blocked a field goal. Junior ILB Mike Perkins (Concord, NH) was close behind with a total of 12 tackles to shut down the River Hawks, who only managed to collect 48 yards passing.
Up next for WPI is a trip to cross-town rival Worcester State, this Friday at 7:00pm. Conference play kicks off the following week, with a home game against perennial powerhouse Union on Saturday afternoon at 1:30pm. Returning students will remember that last year, the Engineers were victorious for the first time in 22 years, winning 7-3 on the road. Show some school spirit and give the home team a boost by making plans to be screamin' in the stands!