WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University will celebrate 50 years of football and kick off a three-game homestand when the Falcons host 1-0 Pace University Saturday at 4 pm in the home opener.

Saturday's game will be considered non-conference as the two teams will play again Nov. 12 at Pace.

This marks the first time that Bentley will play three in a row at home since 1995 when they disposed of Salve Regina, Sacred Heart and C.W. Post in the midst of a 30-game winning streak.

This homestand, in addition to Pace, will include a first-ever encounter with Post University Sept. 16 and the Northeast-10 Conference opener against the University of New Haven Sept. 23.

First-year head coach Alvin Reynolds and his Falcons will be looking for their first victory Saturday after a tough season-opening road loss to a very good West Chester University team last Friday, 17-16.

After Bentley erased a two-touchdown deficit with 16 third-quarter points, a Golden Ram field goal with 4:34 left in the fourth put the home team back in front and completed the game's scoring.

It was a solid defensive effort for the Falcons, who limited West Chester to 315 yards total offense, including just 121 after intermission. Two of Bentley's three scoring drives followed interceptions, one by sophomore Rene Nunez (Secaucus, N.J./Bergen Catholic HS) and the other by senior Joseph Howshan (Lawrence/Central Catholic).

Junior linebacker Salvatore Lupoli (Chelmsford/Chelmsford HS) led Bentley in tackles with 13, the fifth time since the start of last season he's reached double figures. Fifth-year senior defensive end Cedric Dashiell II (Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS), the reigning Northeast-10 Defensive Lineman of the Year, had two sacks and a forced fumble. Among active D-II players, Dashiell II is first in career forced fumbles (8) and fourth in sacks (22).

The Falcons managed only 269 yards total offense but showed improvement after the halftime break, gaining 178 yards and averaging 5.7 yards per play.

Graduate quarterback Mark Waid (Cortland, Ohio/Girard HS) accounted for 221 yards of offense while passing for one TD and running for another. He averaged 18.7 yards on his nine completions and gained a team-best 53 yards.

Senior Noah Neville (Boston/Newton North HS), an All-Northeast-10 honoree in 2021, was Waid's top receiver, hauling in three balls for 73 yards.

Pace will make the trek from Pleasantville, N.Y. after an impressive season-opening win over East Stroudsburg, 31-16. The Setters, coming off a 2-8 season, had a 14-0 lead after 72 seconds, due in large part to a game-opening 92-yard kickoff return and a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff.

The Setter offense in the opener was led by quarterback Carlton Aiken, who threw for 252 yards and picked up 69 yards on the ground. The graduate student amassed 1,291 yards of total offense last season while playing in only five games. In 2019, he was tabbed the Northeast-10 Offensive Player of the Year after throwing 19 TD passes and running for nine scores.

Teddy Harper was his prime target, with four receptions for 145 yards, including an 86-yarder for a TD.

Bentley leads the all-time series, 17-5, including a 26-0 shutout last year in a game that Aiken did not appear in. The Falcon D limited the Setters to 134 yards total offense, including only 42 through the air. That shutout was the Falcons' fourth against Pace during the Setters' last five trips to Waltham.

Following Saturday, the next two Bentley games will be under the Friday night lights.

BENTLEY BRIEFS: Bentley has won seven straight home games and 14 of its last 17 contests overall … current Falcons who earned All-Northeast-10 honors last year were Dashiell II, Neville, senior corner Jailen Branch (Randolph/Milton Academy) and junior punter Charlie Ogletree (Needham/Needham HS) … Saturday's game will be streamed at https://ne10now.tv/bentleyfalcons/.