MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Sophomore Brendan Deasy (Quincy, Mass.) kicked a pair of field goals and junior Shane Lange (Branford, Conn.) recorded nine tackles and two sacks as the Salve Regina University football team doubled-up WPI, 6-3, in non-conference football action Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field in Middletown.

The win snapped the Engineers (0-1) 19-game win streak against New England opponents, dating back to a loss to Coast Guard on November 8, 2003. Last season, the Engineers won the inaugural meeting between them and Salve Regina (1-0) in Worcester, 34-20, but struggled to move the chains all afternoon, managing just five first downs and 168 total yards. The game also marked the return of former Seahawk head coach Chris Robertson, who took over as WPI head coach this past spring after four seasons in Newport.

Lange, along with junior linebacker A.J.Albert (Franklin Park, N.J.), sophomore linebacker Kevin Hilliard (North Reading Mass.), and sophomore defensive end Greg Gosselin (Kingston, Mass.), combined for six tackles for loss. As a team, Salve Regina sacked WPI junior quarterback Pat McAuley (Hingham, Mass.) five times and held him to 8-of-20 for 39 yards through the air. On the ground, the WPI option attack was held to 129 yards on 33 carries.

The Seahawk offense was not much better, registering 180 yards and 12 first downs. Deasy booted a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter that tied the game at three and another from 22 yards late in the third that put the Seahawks in front for good. Senior Rob LaRiviere-Tougas (Easthampton, Mass.) – seeing his first action since November, 2008 – led the attack with 62 rushing yards while sophomore Trey Scales (Boston, Mass.) tallied 59 yards on the ground. In the end, the six points scored by SRU marks its lowest point total in a win in school history, and the nine points is the lowest combined score in program history as well.

"Our defense did a great job. They stepped up and listened to what we talked about all week," said first-year head coach Bob Chesney, who picked up his first victory as a head coach. "That option offense is tricky. They're running all these different things, but we felt we had a pretty good scheme in place, and I thought our kids executed excellently."

WPI opened the scoring with a seven-play, 25-yard drive that resulted in a 30-yard field goal by junior Cody Beckel (Jupiter, Fla.) at 6:43 of the first quarter. Following a interception of SRU senior quarterback Mitch Roshong (Verona, N.J.), junior John Perron (Johnston, R.I.) returned the pick 11 yards into Seahawk territory. The big play of the drive was a 24-yard rush by McAuley that put the Engineers inside the SRU 20.

Salve Regina answered right back as senior Nick Piscitelli (North Haven, Conn.) returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yard to the WPI 37. LaRiviere-Tougas gained 22 of the Seahawks 23 yards on a drive that ended with a Deasy field goal, the fifth of his career, that tied the game at three. The game remained tied into halftime and through the majority of the third stanza.

Late in the third, the Seahawks pinned the Engineers deep in their own end and forced them to punt from their own two-yard line. The punt took a Salve Regina bounced and gave the Seahawks position on the WPI 34-yard line. Ten plays later, Deasy knocked through his second field goal of the afternoon from 22 yards out. Scales nine-yard rush on a third-and six gave SRU a key first down and enabled them to keep the drive alive.

After taking the lead, the Salve Regina defense forced four-consecutive three-and-out possessions by the Engineers. WPI had one final chance late in the game and moved the ball from its own 28-yard line down to the SRU 25 in seven plays, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-three. The Engineers picked up two of their five first downs for the game on the final drive.

Junior Jimmy Connelly (Berlin, Conn.) completed 6-of-14 passes for 63 yards for the Seahawks, including a pair of hookups with junior Michael Dargan (Meriden, Conn.) that totaled 44 yards. Roshong started and completed 2-of-8 for 23 yards. For WPI, junior Ernie Mello (Wilmington, Mass.) chalked up a team-high 67 rushing yards while McAuley racked up 55 on the ground. Senior Brendan Gove (Rutland, Mass.) registered a game-high 10 tackles (seven solo), one-and-a-half sacks, and one fumble recovery for WPI.

"We attempted to pound the ball on offense. I think we have to protect the ball," said Chesney. "That's the number one thing. We have to be aware of the clock and get out of the huddle a lot sooner. We just have to protect the ball and move our feet up front. Come off the ball, move our feet up front, and run. Those were the three things I talked about. We were not capable of running the ball, we did a decent job stopping the run, and we lost the turnover battle. We have a lot of work to do, but we're happy to come out of here with a win."

The Seahawks return to action next Saturday when they travel to New York to face Hartwick College at 1 p.m. The Engineers host Worcester State at 1 p.m. next Saturday.