Syracuse, N.Y. - The Le Moyne men's soccer team began their season with a 3-0 victory over visiting Caldwell University.

Fifth year Patrick Strauss (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Ignatius) got the scoring started for the Dolphins in the 30th minute when he slipped the ball beyond the Caldwell keeper from close range following consecutive headers from senior Brandon Mimas (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker/UAlbany) and junior Ben Quigley (Perth, Scotland/Community School of Auchterarder/University of Stirling).

The Dolphins controlled possession for much of the first half and doubled their lead in the 34th minute when Joe Falcone (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) lobbed a beautiful pass from the right sideline over the defense and directly onto the forehead of first year forward Michael Sparkes (Glasgow, Scotland/St. Ninians), who deposited the ball over the outstretched arm of the Caldwell goalkeeper into the right side of the net from 12 yards away.

The Dolphins went into the locker room at halftime with a commanding 2-0 lead.

The squad continued to produce chances early and often in the second half. With 33 minutes remaining in the contest, graduate student Robert Rohrhirsch (Garching bei München, Germany/Werner-Heisenberg Gymnasium Garching/Munich University of Applied Sciences) almost struck again for Le Moyne when the ball fell to his feet, and he drilled it off the crossbar following a scramble in the Cougars 18-yard box.

Ten minutes after Rohrhirsch's chance, Mimas found himself in behind the defense with a breakaway opportunity, striking the ball on the ground with his right foot towards the left post, but the Caldwell keeper came up with a crucial kick save, deflecting the ball wide of the net and conceding a corner kick to the home team.

Putting continuous pressure on the Caldwell defense allowed the Dolphins to finally break through in the second half, extending their lead to 3-0 in the 74th minute when, off of a Falcone long throw-in, redshirt freshman Noah Sperduto (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira) gracefully chested the ball in the direction of Mimas, who promptly struck the ball from the top left corner of the box past the goalkeeper and into the side of the net.

Le Moyne goalie Josh Mahr (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) was not needed very often for the Dolphins, as he was tested only once, making his only save of the day in the second half. The Dolphins earned 12 corner kicks throughout the game, compared to just four for Caldwell. Le Moyne outshot the Cougars 16 to 4.

The Dolphins men's soccer team is back in action at Ted Grant Field on Sunday, September 5th when they face Jefferson at 12:00 p.m.