WALTHAM, Mass. – The 2026 season for the Bentley women's soccer team gets underway on Friday with the first of two games on Long Island.
The Falcons play Molloy on Friday at 4:00 pm and Wilmington University on Sunday at 4:00 pm. Both games are hosted on the campus of Adelphi.
The matches mark the debut for new head coach
Tim Mason, who takes over on the Bentley sideline after a highly successful eight year run as the head coach at Babson.
Mason, a native of England, takes the reigns of a Bentley program that has made the Northeast 10 playoffs every season since 2019 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and 2023.
Mason has named
Rachael Abbott,
Allison Jeter and
Abi Hennessey the team captains.
A core group of returning players is highlighted by four of the team's All-Conference performers from 2025. Goalkeeper
Holly DiPalo (second team) returns for her graduate year. She started all 17 matches in 2025 and ranked third in the NE10 in save percentage (.800) and shutouts (5).
Junior
Sydney DeRoche was voted first team All-Conference in 2025 at forward after she led the Falcons in both goals (8) and points (17). Her goals tally was the fifth most in the NE10.
Hennessey, a senior midfielder, has been named third team All-Conference two years in a row. In 32 games in two seasons in Waltham, she has seven goals and five assists for 19 points.
The fourth returning All-Conference player from 2025 is
Olivia Matthews, who made an immediate impact as a freshman with five goals.
In all, the Falcons return 10 players who started at least 10 matches last season. That number doesn't include junior forward
Heidi Lawrence, an All-Rookie team selection in 2024, who saw her 2025 campaign ended early by an injury.
Bentley plays its first four games of the season on the road. Following the opening weekend, they return to New York to face Queens College on September 2 and D'Youville on September 4.
The home opener is set for September 13 against Daemen. The first Northeast 10 match of the season is on September 26 at Saint Anselm.
Senior Day will be held on October 17 with a 12:00 pm kickoff against Saint Michael's.
