WALTHAM, Mass. – The University of New Haven football team got ahead early but couldn't hold on as Bentley held the Chargers off the board over the final three quarters to earn a 31-14 win under the lights on Friday night. New Haven was led on the night by senior running back Chris Liggio (Mount Laurel, N.J./Holy Cross) who ran for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Overall, New Haven outgained the Falcons, racking up 365 total yards of offense with 181 of those coming in the air and 184 in the ground game. Nick Robins (Nephi, Utah/Juab) split time under center with Christian Lupoli (Branford, Conn./Notre Dame) with Robins leading the quarterback duo with 140 yards, completing 16-of-26 pass attempts. He also ran for 30 yards and completed the second scoring drive for New Haven with a keeper that resulted in a 14-7 lead at the time. Lupoli would finish with 31 yards, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts.

Among eight total targets called upon by Robins and Lupoli, the Chargers were led by graduate wide receiver Ju'an Williams (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) who finished with 74 yards on seven catches. Sophomore Paul Cooper (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) followed him with three catches for 48 yards while the pair a pair of running backs each finished with three catches apiece, Liggio and Shamar Logan (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School for Youth & Community Development). Logan followed Liggio in the ground game with 67 yards, including the longest haul of the day, a 47 yard run. Williams also added to his total yards for the game with 117 kick return yards and 21 yards on punt returns.

Defensively, New Haven was led by graduate transfer defensive back Zach Cofrancesco (East Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) who picked up six total tackles. Following him was junior Shawn Tafe (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) and senior Affiz Din-Gabisi (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) who each picked up five stops. Senior Josiah Shumaker (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) registered the only turnover of the day for the New Haven defense when he recovered a fumble, adding that to a pair of tackles.

The Falcons would get on the board early when they returned an interception on the first play of the game 30 yards to take a 7-0 lead. New Haven answered right back, taking their game to the ground on the next drive, racking up 67 total yards on the ground with the final four coming from Liggio as he pushed through the line and into the end zone. Liggio would pick up 20 total yards on the drive with his backfield mate Logan doing the bulk of the work on his first rush of the game, breaking free for 47 yards to set the Chargers up at the Bentley three yard line.

New Haven kept the pressure on, forcing a Bentley turnover on the first play of the next drive with Shumaker recovering a Bentley fumble at the Falcons 29 yard line. The Chargers made quick work of the short field with Liggio starting the drive off with a 27 yard gain on the first play to set his squad up with a fresh set of downs at the two yard line. After he pushed ahead for one more yard on first down, Robins would keep the rock himself on second down gaining the yard needed to give his squad a one-touchdown advantage.

With 21 points scored in under five minutes, the contest looked to be a high scoring affair, however neither team would find the end zone the remainder of the first half. Bentley would strike once more before the break when they capped off a 14 play, 72 yard drive with a one-yard rushing score.

After back-to-back three-and-out drives, the Chargers would regain possession with 7:54 remaining in the second quarter and didn't relinquish the ball. What turned out to be a 19 play drive ended in a field goal attempt as the Blue and Gold looked to take the lead at the final whistle, however Bentley was able to get to the kick, blocking what was a 32 yard attempt.

Having deferred to the second half, Bentley opened up the third quarter breaking the 14-14 draw with a 20-yard field goal. The Falcons defense would step up as well, forcing New Haven to punt after gaining just one first down on the next drive. Bentley then made quick work of an 80-yard field with a 79-yard pass to Drew Mahoney that resulted in a 10 point lead for the home team.

Bentley would add one more score on their first drive in the fourth quarter while holding the Chargers off the board the entirety of the second half. Defensively, The Falcons forced New Haven to turn the ball over on downs on three occasions while recovering a fumble in the first quarter for what would have been a first down pass from Robins to Liggio.

New Haven will return to work next weekend when they host the Pace Setters at DellaCamera Stadium on Saturday, October 5 for Homecoming. Opening kickoff in the NE10 battle is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.