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The University of New Haven football team had overcome mistakes before and still managed to remain undefeated in the Northeast-10 Conference. However, all of that came screeching to a halt on a rain-soaked DellaCamera Stadium.

Costly turnovers, the inability to capitalize on good field position and offensive struggles resulted in a 13-9 loss to visiting Saint Anselm to snap New Haven's 17-game home winning streak in Northeast-10 Conference play.

"Heartbreaking," New Haven quarterback Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) said. "We didn't do good enough, I missed some throws, I didn't make enough plays and I have to be better. I left a lot out there and it sucks that it happened that way."

New Haven ran 26 plays in Saint Anselm's territory in the game and the only touchdown came on a busted coverage by the Hawks.

"We weren't able to finish drives, we weren't able to put it away when we got it down there," New Haven coach Chris Pincince said. "We had more time of possession, more yards and usually when that happens and you lose the football game, it means that you didn't execute on third and fourth downs."

New Haven finished 4-for-18 on third and fourth downs.

Pincince was critical of his own performance in the first conference loss of the season.

"I thought we got distracted, both me as a play caller and the kids on the football field just talking too much and waiting too long," Pincince said. "We didn't have a delay of game but we were bringing it right down quite a bit and a couple of times it cost us timeouts."

The Chargers (5-2, 3-1 in Northeast-10) took the two-point lead when Damon Burton blocked a punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety with 30 seconds to play in the third quarter.

"We have been harping on practice that we have to get after it," Burton said. "We knew that they were going to isolate him [New Haven's Chima Opara (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee)] so the backside was there for me to make a play. We set them up on the first three punts and we went for it. The hole opened up, nobody blocked me and I just dove. The ball hit my helmet and went 40 yards up in the air it seemed like."

A 27-yard run by Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) on New Haven's next offensive play put the Chargers in position to add to the lead before two penalties pushed New Haven back. A fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

The game turned on what looked like it was going to be another huge play by the defense.

Burton got to the Saint Anselm quarterback Anthony Santino, who came in for an injured Drew Forkner, on a blitz. However, Santino threw the ball down the field against double coverage. Anthony Brown came down with the ball for a 63-yard gain to nearly match the passing yards for the Hawks in the game.

Brown, who doubled as the quarterback in a wildcat formation, scored four plays later on a 5-yard run.

The teams traded fumble recoveries with Joe Vitale (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) forcing a fumble and Jack Quander (Gainsville, Va./Patriot) recovering to give the Chargers one last chance to escape with a win.

New Haven got down to the Hawks' 35 but another pre-snap penalty and three straight incompletions gave the ball back to Saint Anselm.

On a 4th-and-1 play, Brown got the needed yardage to get the game-clinching first down.

The Chargers trailed 7-0 at halftime. The Hawks left Dev Holmes (Troy, N.Y./Troy) uncovered in the middle of the field with Menard hooking up with Holmes for the 44-yard touchdown to tie the game on the opening drive of the second half.

The Chargers turned the ball over on their opening drive for the fourth time this season when the ball was jarred free from Kevin Foelsch (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) after a short gain.

The Hawks scored on a 10-yard run by Brown.

New Haven drove into the red zone on the next drive after converting on fourth down thanks to Menard's pass to Foelsch. The Chargers passed up a field goal and turned the ball over on downs when Foelsch was tackled short of a first down.

New Haven's defense came through with a fumble recovery by Joe Vitale (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) to give New Haven the ball at the Saint Anselm 20. However, a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

Assumption and Saint Anselm play next week so either the Hawks will fall two games out of the NE10 lead or there will be a host of teams tied at the top of the standings.

First-place Assumption comes to New Haven after its bye week with Bentley and Assumption playing on Nov. 4. New Haven and Bentley also play later in the season.

"Right now our mindset should be to win out," said Ais, who rushed for 127 yards in his first game back after missing the last four games. "We need to win these last three games."

Vitale and Devin O'Malley (Pawtucket, R.I./St. Rafael Academy) led the Chargers with nine tackles each while Jabron Solomon (Lawnside, N.J./Woodbury) had his second interception of the season.

The week without a game will help New Haven get healthier but having to wait two weeks to play could feel like an eternity.

"It is miserable because all you want to do as a competitor is play again when you stub your toe and you lose a football game," Pincince said.