Last Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point beat WPI 42-27 for their first win of the season. The loss is the fourth straight for the Engineers after a victory in the season opener.
After falling behind 7-0 early in the first quarter, WPI mounted a comeback. Senior RB Nick Fluet scored on the last play of the first quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run. Fluet scampered in again from 3 yards out just 2:24 later, giving the Engineers a 14-7 lead.
The Mariners took the lead just before halftime, and came out firing in the second half, increasing their lead to 28-14.
But Fluet struck again, scoring his third rushing TD of the day, blasting 75 yards with 5:22 left in the third quarter. Unfortunately for WPI, Kings Point scored again less than two minutes later to seal the win. A 7-yard run into the endzone late in the fourth quarter by junior FB Eric Thiboutot (Nashua, NH) provided the final points.
Fluet, a native of Leominster, MA, continued his excellent season by finishing the day with a career-high 174 yards rushing to go along with three touchdowns.
The Engineers actually outgained Kings Point, 447 yards to 415, but four WPI turnovers were the deciding factor on the scoreboard.
Senior DB Jeff Martin (Fairhaven, MA) led the Engineers with 9 tackles, the fifth consecutive week he has led the team in that category. The co-captain also had one fumble recovery.
Up next for WPI is Norwich (4-1), fresh off of a 29-10 victory at Coast Guard. Kickoff is at 1:30pm Saturday at Northfield, VT. The next home game for the Engineers is Saturday October 21, when Springfield College plays under the lights at 7:00pm. WPI will be looking for revenge after losing 52-17 in last year's contest and 40-25 at home in 1998.