DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – A pair of first half goals from freshman Zharria John (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) and sophomore Julia Battino (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) helped lift the New Haven field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Mercy to open up Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday. The tallies represented the first career goals for both players. Sophomore Taylor Geaglone (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) assisted on both goals while collecting a game-high six shots on goal.

New Haven is now 2-0 all-time at Mercy and moves to 1-2 (1-0 NE10) on the season, while Mercy drops to 0-2 (0-1 NE10).

The Chargers wasted no time getting on the board, jumping in front just 1:16 into the game on their first scoring opportunity. Morgan McCarty (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) took a penalty corner and John scored off a deflection to give the team the early edge.

The Blue and Gold struck early again in the second quarter when Battino scored off a deflection on a shot from just inside the circle. Geaglone picked up her second assist of the game on the tally.

The two-goal advantage held through the third quarter until Mercy cut the lead in half on a goal with just over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, coming on a shot from the right following a penalty corner.

New Haven outshot Mercy 21-9 in the game, holding a 17-7 edge in shots on goal and 15-12 in penalty corners. Junior goaltender Natalie Shaker (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) stopped five of the six shots she faced in the win.

New Haven will come home to DellaCamera Stadium for a pair of games this weekend against Franklin Pierce, starting with a NE10 matchup on Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by a non-conference matchup on Sunday at noon.