NORTH ANDOVER — AJ Hairston scored a pair of touchdowns to power Merrimack College to a 24-17 victory over the University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Duane Stadium.

“I thought our guys played really, really hard. As long as it took, and I told them it’s going to be a 60 minutes effort type game and we got that down,” said Merrimack head coach Mike Gennetti, who’s team improved to 3-5 on the year.

“So I am really grateful for them and everything that they did today and we just made enough plays to end the game.”

New Hampshire (2-7) struck first at the 10:53 mark of the opening quarter, with Lucas Glassburn converting a 22-yard field goal to give the Wildcats an early 3-0 lead. Merrimack had a chance to answer, but came up empty after missing a field goal that would have tied the score.

The Wildcats extended their lead late in the first, as quarterback Tommy McLeish connected with Logan Perez on a 40-yard touchdown strike. Glassburn’s extra point made it 10-0 Wildcats with just over a minute left in the quarter.

As the second quarter began, both defenses tightened. It wasn’t until the 5:34 mark that Merrimack got on the board, as Hairston rushed left for a three-yard touchdown. Mike Ryan’s extra point made it 10-7. Just before halftime, Ryan drilled a 35-yard field goal to send both teams into the locker room knotted at 10-10.

“It takes what it takes at this level and the offense did a good job protecting the football and running the ball and making some plays,” Gennetti said. “ So, I felt like it was one of those situations where we made sure that we did enough offensively and they did a great job and I was really pleased with that,” he said.

In the third quarter, Merrimack seized its first lead of the afternoon at the 9:11 mark, when Hairston connected with DeMarcus McElroy for a 30-yard touchdown. Ryan’s PAT made it 17-10. New Hampshire responded, with McLeish finding Colby Ramshaw for a 12-yard touchdown. Glassburn tacked on the extra point to tie the game at 17 with 4:40 remaining in the third.

“Coach [Aynsley] Rosenbaum is really having me running quarterback and… so is really trusting my teammates and making plays and trusting my coaches to make the right call,” said Harrison. .

The fourth quarter was a tense affair, as both teams searched for the go-ahead score. It was Merrimack’s Hairston who delivered with 7:53 to go, notching his second touchdown of the day to clinch a hard-fought 24-17 victory for the Warriors.

“I feel like just trusting the process and staying consistent and sometimes I feel like we get a little gritty here and there but just listening to my coaches and trusting what I see and taking it from there,” Hariston added.

UNH hosts URI next Saturday, while Merrimack hosts Wagner.