BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. - With 9.7 second remaining, Courtney Ackland (Perth, Western Australia/Churchlands) scored her third goal of the game and the eventual game-winner to lead the nationally ranked No. 6 University of New Haven women's lacrosse team to a 12-10 victory over Saint Anselm College. With the win, the Chargers also broke the program record for wins to open a season and longest winning streak.

UNH stays undefeated on the year at 10-0 overall and 6-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Hawks dropped their first game of the season and fall to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in NE-10 play.

The record-setting start to the season breaks the previous 9-0 start that the 2009 NE-10 Championship team recorded five years ago. That start was also the longest previous winning streak in program history.

Ackland finished with a team-best three goals, matching Nicole McKee (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) three tallies. Kathryn Campbell (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield), who added an insurance goal as time expired, scored twice and dished out four assists for a total of six points in the win. She also played well all around, tying the program record with nine draw controls and adding four ground balls and one caused turnover. Nicole Belanger (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) chipped with two goals, six ground balls, two draw controls and three caused turnovers. Maya Szymanski (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) added a goal and an assist, while Marissa Fisher (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) netted the game-tying goal for UNH at the 3:21 mark of the second half.

Charger goalkeepers Marissa McDermott (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy) and Alyssa Gianotti (Monkton, Md./Hereford) shared time in the win, while Gianotti earned the win in the final 18:46. McDermott recorded four saves and Gianotti added one.

New Haven held a key advantage in draw controls, especially in the closing minutes. The Chargers recorded 17 draw controls compared to six by the Hawks. The Blue and Gold also out-shot the Hawks 29-19 and recorded 11 more ground balls (20-9). Both teams struggled on free-position shots with New Haven going 3-for-8 and Saint Anselm 0-for-2.

For nearly the entire game, New Haven and Saint Anselm exchanged goals. Neither team scored more than four consecutive goals and the game was tied six different times.

Szymanski was the first to net a goal when she buried a pass from Campbell just 3:21 into the first half. Saint Anselm's Kelly Pickett and Caitlin Villareal scored back-to-back and gave the Hawks' their first lead of the game at the 20:21 mark. Just 11 seconds later, Ackland scored her first of the game with Campbell feeding her second goal of the game.

Nearly six minutes later, the Chargers found themselves training once again. The Saint Anselm lead was shot as New Haven then rattled of four unanswered goals to take the lead. During the run, Belanger, Ackland, McKee and Campbell each scored during an eight-minute stretch. UNH gave up one goal before halftime and held a two-goal advantage at the midway point.

McKee scored the first goal of the second half after nearly nine full minutes ran off the clock. Her 29th goal of the season came in free-position fashion and put UNH ahead 7-4. Saint Anselm then scored three of the next four goals and cut New Haven's lead to 8-7 with 17:05 on the clock. McKee then scored her 30th of the season at the 12:14 mark to put the Chargers back up by two. The Hawks, however, continued to fight back. Three straight goals from Saint Anselm during a five minute span put the visitors ahead 10-9 with 4:32 remaining.

New Haven's Marissa Fisher was the next to score with a one-timer from Campbell at 3:21. McKee won the ensuing draw control for UNH and the Chargers began to run time off the clock in the attacking third. After a UNH timeout at 1:42, Saint Anselm began to pressure the ball as the Chargers held on for the game's last shot. Campbell's attempt with 11 second sailed high, but Ackland's recovery behind the net and eventual penetration of the Hawks' defense netted the game's winning goal with 9.7 left in the second half. Campbell won the next draw and took the ball the entire length of the field to score the Chargers' 12th and final goal of the game as time expired.

The Chargers return to action in another meeting of undefeated nationally-ranked teams on Tuesday, April 8 against No. 2 Adelphi. The Panthers, standing at 11-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, have been in the top five of the nation all season. Game time at Kayo Field is set for 7 p.m.