MANCHESTER, N.H. – After a perfect 4-0 month of football for Saint Anselm College in September, the Hawks will take their 4-0 overall record into play on Saturday, Oct. 1 against the nationally-ranked University of New Haven Chargers at Grappone Stadium.

SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (4-0, 2-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News | Game Notes

No. 24 UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN CHARGERS (3-1, 2-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News | Game Notes

New Haven, the No. 24 team in NCAA Division II according to the American Football Coaches' Association, will take on the lone undefeated program remaining in the Northeast-10 Conference, Saint Anselm. The Chargers have racked up a three-game winning streak after falling at Bowie State in the season-opening game on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Admission to Saturday's game is $10, payable by credit card only at the gate. As a reminder to all fans, pets are not allowed within the confines of the Grappone Stadium fencing and field turf access is limited to those with pre-approved credentials only.

NOTABLES

• FOUR-AND-OH!: With a 21-14 victory over Southern Connecticut State last time out, the Hawks have won six of their last seven games dating back to last season. Additionally, Saint Anselm is 4-0 for the first time since the 2014 campaign with the team's second consecutive Northeast-10 Conference victory to begin the 2022 campaign.
• HOME IS WHERE IT HAPPENS: The Hawks have won nine of their last 10 games played at Grappone Stadium. The one defeat came against nationally-ranked Bentley on Oct. 2, 2021. In that contest, the Hawks rallied from a 27-0 deficit but could not complete the comeback in front of the home crowd, falling 34-21.
• BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: Saint Anselm rallied from a 14-3 deficit at halftime, scoring 18 unanswered points to capture a thrilling 21-14 victory over SCSU. Both teams combined for eight interceptions and 17 penalties, but it was Saint Anselm that righted the ship in the second half by scoring on three of its final four possessions on the way to the victory. The teams were tied at 14 with under three minutes to go. With the visitors marching down field and well positioned at the Saint Anselm nine yard line, the SCSU quarterback threw what would be a game-changing interception at the two that was hauled in by Devin Wood (Merrimack, N.H.) for Saint Anselm. The Hawks defense finished the game with three interceptions and five pass break-ups. With 2:23 left in regulation time, Hawks quarterback Drew Willoughby (Austin, Texas) stepped up and engineered a seven-play, 87-yard drive that culminated in a 35-yard game-winning touchdown pass to senior Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) with 43 seconds left on the clock. Saint Anselm ended the drive with five consecutive first downs and each of the completed pass plays was for at least eight yards. Forced to throw down by seven points with under 45 seconds left, the Owls threw their third interception of the afternoon as sophomore Brandon Potts (Bowie, Md.) picked off a pass near midfield to end the game. After taking an 11-point lead into halftime, the Owls offense finished with three interceptions, a missed field goal and two punts in the second half. Willoughby registered 32 pass completions for 371 yards, throwing two touchdowns in the victory while moving north of 4,000 career passing yards in just one-and-a-half seasons of play at Saint Anselm. Sophomore Carson Goda (Bradenton, Fla.) and Brown racked up over 100 receiving yards in the win and each reeled in a touchdown pass from Willoughby. In total, nine student-athletes on the Saint Anselm roster caught at least one pass. Defensively, junior Ahmad Brown (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) led the way with nine tackles (six solo) with seniors Devin Williams (Cliffwood, N.J.) and Liam Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) logging eight takedowns each. The Hawks saw interceptions from Wood, Potts and senior Taylor Pawelkoski (Bradenton, Fla.) in the winning effort, stealing momentum from SCSU on what were several promising offensive drives.
• SETTING THE STAGE: Saint Anselm comes into play on Saturday against New Haven as just one of 25 teams in all of NCAA Division II without a loss. Additionally, the Hawks have limited opponents to just 7.8 points per game this season, the second-best figure in all of NCAA Division II football. The team has picked up 12 turnovers by the opposition, the third-finest total in the country. Saint Anselm has also performed admirably on a national scale in other statistics as well, limiting opponents to just a 23% conversion rate on third down (sixth nationally) and completing passes at a 65.9% rate (ninth nationally). 
• IT'S ALL ABOUT POLL: Saint Anselm will be facing its first nationally-ranked opponent since the aforementioned 34-21 loss to Bentley on Oct. 2, 2021. Since the dawn of modern-day intercollegiate football on the Hilltop in 1999, the Hawks are 1-12 versus teams in the AFCA National Top-25 Coaches' Poll. The one victory for the Hawks came at No. 23-ranked New Haven on Nov. 5, 2010, a 35-26 result for Saint Anselm. At the time, the loss ended New Haven's chance at an NCAA Tournament bid and sent the Chargers home for the season with an 8-2 (6-2 NE10) record.
• P-A-TRICK: Sophomore Patrick Carroll (Stafford, Va.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 26. Against the Owls last time out, Carroll was responsible for seven points as he converted both of his field goal tries and his lone extra point attempt. Carroll opened the scoring with a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter and later added a 22 yarder in the fourth quarter to tie the contest at 14. He later punched home an extra point following what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation. When compared to the rest of the kickers in the NE10, Carroll ranks second in total points (26) and is tied for the most extra points made (14). He is tied for the longest field goal made at 41 yards and is four-of-five in field goals made this season. Three of those four field goals have been at least 40 yards as he is the second Saint Anselm kicker to have three or more field goals of over 40 yards (Michael Garcarz '05, Daniel Parisi '19) in a career.
• COMPLETE GAME CLEAN SHEET: Saint Anselm recorded its first shutout victory over an NCAA Division II opponent since 2002 on Saturday, Sept. 17, logging a 27-0 win over Franklin Pierce University at Sodexo Field.  Most recently, Saint Anselm blanked NCAA Division III Plymouth State by a 24-0 score on Sept. 4, 2004. The last shutout against a Division II opponent came against Pace on Oct. 12, 2002 – since the reinstatement of varsity football on the Hilltop in 1999, there have now been three shutouts delivered by Saint Anselm.
• DIALING UP THE "D": Saint Anselm is limiting its opponents to just a 62.5% success rate in the red zone. So far this season, the Hawks have seen opponents miss a field goal in the red zone (Millersville, Sept. 1), fumble in the red zone (American Int'l, Sept. 10) and throw a goal-line interception (Southern Conn. St., Sept. 24). The Hawks have forced at least eight punts in each of the four games this season while the Hawks have logged just 20 punts in four games to date. Against Franklin Pierce in week three, the Ravens (playing at home) generated just 128 total yards of offense in the defeat, the second-lowest amount produced by a Hawks opponent in program annals. The stout Saint Anselm defense also held Franklin Pierce to an 0-for-11 performance on third down.
• TOP 10 STANDOUTS: Individually, Saint Anselm has several student-athletes ranked within the top-10 nationally in several statistical categories, including: Drew Willoughby - First in passing touchdowns (14), third in points responsible for (86), third in completions per game (27.75), fourth in points responsible for per game (21.5), ninth in passing yards (1,200), ninth in passing yards per game (300.5); Anthony Brown - Third in receiving touchdowns (6); Rio Ferguson - Second in blocked kicks (2); Devin Williams - Fifth in fumbles recovered (2) 
• MILESTONE WATCH: Senior Vincent Wagner (Staten Island, N.Y.), who recently cracked the top-10 list in team history with 789 rushing yards, is just 34 yards away from taking over ninth place from Luke St. Marie. Wagner is averaging 4.36 yards per carry in his career, the sixth-best figure in team history. Senior wideout Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) enters the game on Saturday with 1,670 receiving yards in his career, ranking fifth all-time, and needs just 330 yards to become the fifth in team history to reach 2,000 career receiving yards. Brown also sits in fourth all-time with 16 career touchdown receptions. Brown has racked up 349 career yards on punt returns, trailing only Aaron Jeanson '05 and his total of 447 amassed between 2002 and 2004. Brown also has caught a pass in each of his 24 career games at Saint Anselm, passing the most recent long streak by a Hawks student-athlete since Zach Bartak '17 had 23 consecutive games with a reception from Nov. 8, 2014 through Nov. 12, 2016. Only seven student-athletes in team history, including Brown, have 24 consecutive games with a reception and none since Justin Bernard '15 and Ahkeen Williams '15 ended their careers in 2014. 

For a more detailed game preview, check out the GAME NOTES for Saturday's game.