WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Four goals from sophomore Marina Skelly (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connequot) and the first career hat trick for freshman Annie Acquavita (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) helped No. 13 New Haven power back for a 13-11 win over No. 21 New York Tech on Saturday afternoon at Kathy Zolad Stadium. After a sluggish start offensively for both squads, who combined for eight goals in the first half, the game opened up in the second half where New Haven outscored the Bears 10-6, including a big 5-0 run that gave the Chargers their first lead with just under six minutes remaining.

Freshman Mikayla Cotter (Wrentham, Mass./Bishop Feehan) scored twice, while seniors Kendra Nolan (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township), Caroline Maher (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield), Raven Linton (Lawrenceville, N.J./Notre Dame) and junior Emily Holland (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) all scored one goal apiece. Maher, Skelly and Julia Jette (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) each tallied assists. In net, senior Gianna Guerra (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) made nine stops for her second win in as many games this season.

Each team took 30 shots, with the Chargers putting 21 of their attempts on goal, compared to the Bears 20 shots on goal. New Haven converted on four of their six free position shots, while NYIT scored just once on six free position shots. Each team grabbed 13 draw controls.

New Haven moves to 2-0 for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, while New York Tech drops to 2-2. The key win marked the first of three straight games for the Chargers against teams ranked in the week's IWLCA National Top 25 Poll.

Both teams traded 2-0 runs through the first 10 minutes of play, with the Chargers getting two goals from Cotter and Acquavita to tie the score 2-2. The Bears then built a 5-2 lead with three straight goals, but the Chargers would respond with three straight of their own to retie the score at five. Nolan scored off a Jette assist to start the run, ending an over-16-minute scoring drought for New Haven to make it 5-3 with 4:00 left in the opening half.

Trailing 5-3 to start the second half, Maher and Jette completed the run with two quick goals in a 42-second span to tie the game just over two minutes in. But, the Bears quickly answered, once again rattling off three straight goals to go back up 8-5 at the 25:19 mark.

Acquavita scored off a dish from Skelly less than a minute later, and then Holland took a pass from behind the net from Maher and put home a man-down tally that brought New Haven within one.

The Chargers would fall behind by three once again before surging for five unanswered goals, three of which came from Skelly, helping New Haven take the lead for good. Skelly drew a foul while scoring her second goal of the stretch, which resulted in Linton claiming the uncontested faceoff and racing towards goal and scoring just 12 seconds later to tie the score 10-10. Cotter followed with her second goal at the 5:52 mark and Skelly provided an insurance goal with just over three minutes left for the 12-10 edge.

The Bears made things interesting with a goal right off the ensuing draw, but Acquavita helped lock down the win with a big unassisted marker to complete her hat trick with 1:23 left.

The Chargers will open Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday afternoon against Saint Anselm at 4 p.m., as they wrap up a three-game homestand to start the season.