LAKEWOOD, NJ (August 26, 2026) - It's the dawn of a new season for Georgian Court Men's Soccer. The Lions head up to Massachusetts for a pair of games with Northeast-10 rivals.

Opponents (2025 Record)
#19 Bentley Falcons (11-3-4)
Saint Michael's Purple Knights (8-6-3)

Where
Waltham, MA 

When
Thursday, August 27 - 12 pm at Bentley
Saturday, August 29 - 12 pm vs. Saint Michael's (at Bentley)

How to Watch
• Both games will be streamed on the Bentley and Saint Michael's portal of Flo College as pay-to-view broadcasts. Live stats are also available for each game. 

Previously vs. Bentley
• This is the third of a four-year agreement between Georgian Court, Bentley, Saint Michael's and Caldwell for early season games.
• However, 2026 will be just the second game between the Lions and Falcons. That's because last year's game was cut short due to rain before it reached an official game.
• When the team's played for the first time in 2024, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Bentley scored the equalizer with 2:06 left in regulation.
• Gijs van Eif scored twice for GCU, once on a penalty kick.

Previously vs. Saint Michael's
• The first two year's of this early season tournament agreement, saw games played in Colchester, VT and in Lakewood, marking this the first neutral site game between these two teams.
• One common theme from the first two is the Lions are yet to break through for a goal against the Purple Knights.
• Saint Michael's shut the Lions out 1-0 two years ago and 2-0 last season. 
• Both goals last year were scored in the second half. Ayendi Batista made eight saves in goal, while the Lions put just one shot on net. 

Preseason Poll
• In the CACC Preseason Coaches poll, the Lions were picked to finish seventh overall.
• The poll saw four different teams earn at least one first-place vote and were led by Post with 94 points.

Individual Milestones
• One more point will get Gijs van Eif to 60. He'd be just the third Lion ever to reach 60 career points. Three more goals will get him to 30 where he'd also be the third Lion to score 30 goals. 
• Sander Rynning will hit 1,000 minutes played with 107 more. Anthony Ryan is 36 short of 1,000.
• Joseph Juarez is nearing 2,000 minutes needing just 41. 
• One more win will be Head Coach Dino Raso's 100th at Georgian Court, which mean's it will be the program's 100th win as well. 

About The Opponents
#19 Bentley Falcons
• A year ago, Bentley made the NCAA Tournament with an 11-3-4 record and won the NE10 regular season. 
• They fell in the NE10 Championship game to Franklin Pierce, 4-1.
• To start 2026, the Falcons are ranked 19th by the United Soccer Coaches. 
• In the Northeast 10 preseason coaches poll, Bentley was picked to finish second. 
• Coach Gary Crompton was last year's NE10 Coach of the Year.
• The Falcons return 24 from last year's squad that made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 50 years. 
• However, Bentley's top-two scorers need replacing. Lukas Drahos and Michael Haikal combined for 15 of Bentley's 31 goals.
• There will also be a new face in goal for the Falcons. Cam Hall graduated after playing every minute for Bentley in 2025 allowing less than one goal per game.

Saint Michael's Purple Knights
• Saint Michael's put together another winning season last year going 8-6-3 overall and 4-3-2 in the NE10 to make the postseason tournament.
• The Purple Knights fared far better at home, where they were 5-1-2, but just 3-5-1 when traveling.
• In the NE10 Preseason Coaches Poll, the Purple Knights were slotted right in the middle, picked to finish sixth overall.
• Coach Wade Jean is the winningest coach in program history, with, like Lions Coach Raso, 99 wins at the school.
• Saint Michael's also needs to replace a lot of points as each of their top-3 from 2025 have moved on from SMC.
• Goalkeeper Garrett Smith, who blanked the Lions last year also departed as the Purple Knights search for a new keeper.