BOX SCORE NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - The nationally ranked No. 9 University of New Haven women's lacrosse team defeated No. 10 Merrimack College 18-8 Saturday afteron in a crucial Northeast-10 Conference showdown. With the win, New Haven improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Warriors fell to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the NE-10.

In the first six minutes on Saturday, the Chargers jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind two unassisted goals by Ashley Ferrandiz (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and a free position goal by Alexis Gabbe (Malverne, N.Y./Malverne). Merrimack broke the string with a goal at the 23:43 mark, but the Chargers answered right back with back-to-back goals by Sarah Magnone (Yardley, Penn./Villa Joseph Marie) over the course of nine minutes. The Chargers lead 5-1 with 10-minutes left in the opening half. The Warriors closed the lead to just three at the 9:34 mark, but Magnone sparked a 5-1 run for the Chargers in the final minutes of the half to give UNH a 10-3 lead at the break.

The Chargers scored the opening three goals of the second half to take a 13-3 lead. The Warriors answered once against with two unanswered to cut the lead back to eight goals. Kathryn Campbell (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) and Gabbe scored two over a five minute stretch and the Chargers were back ahead by 10, 15-5. In the final 12 minutes, the teams exchanged three goals each and the Chargers went on to a 10-point victory over Merrimack.

The Chargers, who have only beat Merrimack five times since the program began in 2001, snapped a four-game losing streak to the Warriors with the win.

New Haven controlled most of the statistical categories, but the Warriors did lead in draw controls 15-13. New Haven led 32-20 in shots and 22-15 in ground balls. Both teams were successful on 16-of-18 clear attempts.

Sarah Magnone (Yardley, Penn./Villa Joseph Marie) scored four goals and grabbed one assist to lead the UNH offense. Ashley Ferrandiz (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) added four goals on four shots, while Nicole McKee (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) and Alexis Gabbe (Malverne, N.Y./Malverne) each contributed two goals and one assist. Maureen Spellman (Trumbull, Conn./Saint Joseph) earned her fifth win in goal and tallied eight saves.

New Haven returns to action on Monday, March 26 when it travels to Southern Connecticut State University. Game time at Jess Dow Field is set for 4 p.m. For complete covereage, stay posted to www.NewHavenChargers.com.