WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University men's soccer team will gets is 2017 season underway on Friday with its annual foray to North Andover, Mass., for a pair of matches on opening weekend. The Falcons will take on Molloy on Friday at 4:00 pm, followed by Caldwell on Sunday at noon.

Head coach Gary Crompton's squad has 13 newcomers, and with returning veterans in key positions, the Falcons will look to make it back to the Northeast-10 playoffs, which would mark the 8^th time in Crompton's 10 seasons.

One of the key returnees is senior forward Sean Sullivan (Suffield, Conn./Suffield), who has been the team's leading goal scorer over the last two seasons combined with 13 goals. Sullivan was named one of the team's captains in the offseason. Senior Luc Batawi (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) is another key returnee in this area as a consistent goal threat.

Midfield is the position where the Falcons perhaps have the most depth and experience, led by two the team's other two captains in seniors Eric Morra (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Eric Spangler (Lafayette, Colo./Centaurus). Those two are in addition to the returning Evan Ryan (Cornwall, Vt./Middlebury Union), an NE10 All-Rookie team selection in 2015, and sophomore Diego Lombardi (Guatemala City), who played in 15 matches as a freshman.

Bentley's backline will be boosted by the return of senior Matt Jones (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephens) after he missed last season. Jones was a regular starter at center back in first two seasons. Senior fullback Chuck Leone (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Southside) adds further experience to the group, as he has been a regular starter the past two seasons as well. Junior Charlie Lopez (Madrid, Spain) started 13 matches in 2016 in his first year at Bentley.

In goal, Crompton will have three experienced keepers to call on. Junior Harrison Rapant (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield) started 10 matches and was named the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week after making 11 saves in a 0-0 draw with Adelphi, which was ranked No. 16 in Division II at the time. Senior Liam McCarthy (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin) saw significant action in between the sticks as well with eight matches played and five starts. Coming in to add further competition is junior transfer David Price (Needham, Mass./Beaver Country), who played for Division I High Point University in 2014.

After completing this weekend's matches, the Falcons will play their home opener against New York Tech in a non-conference match one week from Saturday. That will start a three match home stand, which includes NE10 matches against Assumption and Southern Conn State.

Home matches will be streamed live in HD on BentleyFalcons.TV, and all road matches will be streamed as well. Visit BentleyFalcons.com for more details.