MANCHESTER -- In the fifth annual Battle For The Ol' Bronze Hawk, Saint Anselm dropped a 41-27 decision to visiting Stonehill College on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.

The Skyhawks now own a 7-5 lead in the all-time series against Saint Anselm.

Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 13-0 lead. After sophomore Michael Pierce scored on a quarterback keeper for the 7-0 lead, the Hawks added to that lead early in the second when Pierce found Craig Dennis across the middle for a 15-yard scoring pass.The remainder of the second quarter was all Stonehill however as the Skyhawks scored 19 unanswered points, led by a pair of scoring runs by Jemetrius Troy for the 19-13 lead at the half.

Early in the third quarter, the Hawks regained the lead as Pierce found freshman Justin Bernard on a route to the left, with Bernard pulling the ball down at the 10-yard line and finding his way inside the pylon for the 20-19 advantage. The Skyhawks quickly regained the lead however as Troy found the end zone for a third time, followed by a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tim Bennett for the 34-20 Skyhawk edge after three quarters.

Pierce got the Hawks back to within 34-27 on a 14-yard scoring run early in the fourth, but that was quickly answered by Stonehill as Stephan Neville ran back the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for his fourth kickoff return for a touchdown this season and eighth in his career.

Pierce led the Hawks with 320 yards passing with two passing touchdowns and a pair of running scores. Bernard was the team's leading receiver with 10 catches for 104 yards, his first career 100-yard receiving game. Sophomore linebacker Chris Bent led the Hawks with 12 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss. Senior Jason Nguyen also finished with 10 tackles on the afternoon.

Eddie Vachon led the Stonehill offense with a 135-yard effort as he set the Stonehill career rushing mark in the victory.

With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the Northeast-10, while Stonehill evens its record at 4-4 overall and 2-4 in league play.