Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team collected its fourth shutout win of the season and added three points in the NEC Standings with a 4-0 win over Central Connecticut State University on Sunday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.

The Dolphins, who have now recorded shutout wins in each of their last three conference games, tied their season high of four goals and tallied a season-best six assists.

Brady McNulty (San Gabriel, Calif./Temple City/Niagara), Vito Kreuzpaintner (Munich, Bavaria, Germany/FOS Nord/UNC Wilmington), Noah Morelli (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield), and Giuliano Michitti (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) each scored for the 'Phins, while Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool/Dayton), Ziad Abdul-Malak (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley), Noah Sperduto (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira) and Martin Kuci (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) provided assists.

Just like Le Moyne's 4-0 win at Chicago State on October 3, the Dolphins had four different goal scorers during the win on Sunday.

"Happy to get another win in the conference," said Le Moyne head coach Callum Donnelly '17, M '21.  "I was happy with the four goals we scored, with four different scorers again. It shows everyone is capable of chipping in.

"We wanted to start the game on the front foot and be aggressive with our press. Everyone is chipping in defensively. We've done well to get to where we are in conference play, but there is still a lot more to come from this team. We can improve in all areas. We look forward to a tough away match on Thursday in Erie," Donnelly concluded.

Morelli has now scored in the last three games that he has appeared in, while Stuart registered a career-high two assists against the Blue Devils, and Kuci added his first collegiate point with an assist on Le Moyne's final goal.

With the win, Le Moyne improved its overall record to 6-2-4, including 3-0-1 against NEC opponents and 3-1-3 at home. The Dolphins are now tied for first in the NEC Standings with 10 points.

Le Moyne sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) came up with four saves to register his fifth clean sheet of the season, which is the most among all NEC keepers.

Stuart now leads the Dolphins in assists with four on the year, while Pham and Sperduto each tallied their third of the season.

Le Moyne outshot the visitors by a tally of 15-10 during the 90 minutes, while CCSU had the advantage in corner kicks, 10-4.

Dupell, McNulty, Stuart, Maximilian Huss (Karben, Germany/Elly-Heuss-Schule) and Victor Boje Henriksen (Greve, Denmark/Greve Gymnasium/Saint Rose) each played the full 90 minutes for the Dolphins. Henriksen has now played the full 90 minutes in 10 consecutive games since making his Le Moyne debut at Syracuse.

Graduate defender Michael Lantry (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Syracuse/DePaul) entered the game for Le Moyne in the second half, marking his first appearance in a match since the 2022 season.

CCSU won two corner kicks in the first minute of the match, then recorded a shot on goal in the fifth minute that was saved by Dupell.

Le Moyne hit the back of the net in the 11^th minute when Abdul-Malak tapped in a rebound attempt following a saved shot from Pham, but the goal was called back due to offsides.

The Dolphins broke the scoreless tie less than two minutes later when Pham took a corner kick from the left flag and sent a cross in the air to the right side of the penalty area where McNulty volleyed the ball with his left foot into the right side of the goal. The goal was McNulty's third of the season, and his second against an NEC opponent. McNulty put another shot on target in the 28^th minute, but CCSU junior goalkeeper Mick Sipples made a diving save to his right.

The Dolphins doubled their lead in the 32^nd minute when Abdul-Malak led Kreuzpaintner with a pass into the right side of the penalty area, where Kreuzpaintner ripped a right-footed shot on the ground across the face of goal and into the bottom left corner of the net. The goal was Kreuzpaintner's second of the year, and Abdul-Malak collected his first assist of the season on the play.

With under 30 seconds remaining in the first half, Stuart made a move past his defender in the left side of the penalty area and sent a cross on the ground to his right. Sperduto touched the ball along to the back post where Morelli tapped it into the net to make it 3-0 in favor of the Dolphins.  

Both sides recorded six shots during the final 45 minutes, but Le Moyne scored the lone goal of the second half with 12 second remaining when Kuci sprung a quick counterattack for the 'Phins, sending a pass into space for Stuart, who then sent a pass to his left for a sprinting Michitti, who placed a shot past the goalkeeper and into the center of the net.

Le Moyne (6-2-4, 3-0-1 NEC) will return to action on Thursday with a conference match at Mercyhurst University (6-6-1, 3-0-1 NEC). The Dolphins and the Lakers, who recorded a 3-3 draw at Stonehill on Sunday, are tied for first in the league standings with 10 points each. Le Moyne and Mercyhurst were both featured in the eighth edition of the United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Poll, which was released on Tuesday. The Dolphins were ranked eighth, the best ranking in the NEC, while Mercyhurst entered the poll for the first time at No. 10.

Le Moyne has tripled its win total from the 2023 season, and currently has the best overall winning percentage (.667) among all NEC teams.

Game Highlights: