THE BASICS:
 
- Score: Springfield College 16, MIT 14
 
- Records: MIT (2-6, 0-5 NEWMAC); Springfield College (7-2, 5-0 NEWMAC)
 
- Location: Springfield, Mass. (Stagg Field)
 
- The Lead: In a back-and-forth NEWMAC matchup on Saturday afternoon, the MIT football team dropped a narrow 16-14 final to Springfield College. The Engineers had a potential game-winning 48-yard field goal come up short in the final seconds as the Pride held on for the victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Springfield got on the board on their first drive of the game as Dante Vasquez scored on a 46-yard rushing TD for the early 7-0 lead. MIT immediately answered with a balanced drive of 31 rushing yards and 44 passing yards as junior Jonathan Berger (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) hauled in a nine-yard TD to tie the game at 7-7.
 
- The next two scoring plays came off the foot of Springfield kicker Christian Hutra as the Pride took the lead on a 38-yard field goal late in the first. He added a 27-yard field goal with 5:54 remaining in the second to extend the lead out of 13-7 in favor of the hosts.
 
- MIT took a 14-13 lead into halftime with senior Dennis Gastel (Lincoln, R.I.) pulling down a 52-yard touchdown pass from first-year Chase Harmon (West Linn, Ore.) to give the Engineers the 14-13 lead after the extra point from sophomore Nico Bulhof (Bryan, Texas). Springfield drove deep into MIT territory on its final drive of the first half, but that was ended by MIT's Lucky Deignan (Indianapolis, Ind.) as he intercepted David Wells at the three-yard line.
 
- After a scoreless third quarter, Hutra added a third field goal for Springfield as he converted from 46 yards out to put the Pride back in front at 16-14 with 14:55 on the clock.
 
- On the ensuing drive, the Engineers drove down inside the red zone and had first and goal from the Springfield eight-yard line. Joe Maurer picked off the next MIT pass in the end zone though to take over at the Springfield 20-yard line with 7:51 on the clock.
 
- In MIT's final drive of the game, the Engineers used two long passes from Harmon to get to the Springfield side of the field with under a minute left. On third and 14 with 32 seconds left, a Bulhof field goal attempt came up short and right as the Pride held on for the two-point victory.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Harmon completed 22-of-33 passes for a career-high 257 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Jay Theriault (Boxford, Mass.) led the ground game with 40 yards rushing. Gastel was the top receiver for the Engineers as he had five receptions for 93 yards.
 
- Graduate student Paul Calvetti (Ridgewood, N.J.) led the MIT defense with 18 tackles to go along with 11 tackles from senior Brady Sullivan (Littleton, Colo.) and 10 from senior Mateo Monterde (Henderson, Nev.).
 
UP NEXT:
 
- The Engineers wrap up the 2022 season on Saturday, November 12th as the team travels to WPI for a Noon start in Worcester, Mass.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.