Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team recorded its sixth shutout win of the season and added three points in the NEC Standings with a 2-0 win over Howard on Sunday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.

Redshirt-junior midfielder Ziad Abdul-Malak (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) tallied his fourth goal of the season in the 30^th minute to put the Dolphins in front, then five minutes later graduate defender Victor Boje Henriksen (Greve, Denmark/Greve Gymnasium/Saint Rose) put away his first goal in a Le Moyne shirt with the help of an assist from redshirt-freshman forward Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool/Dayton).

Le Moyne did not allow Howard a shot on goal, which marked the first time that a Le Moyne squad has accomplished the feat since 2014, as the Dolphins registered their fifth shutout in NEC play.
With the win, the Dolphins improved their overall record to 7-3-4, including 4-1-1 in conference and 4-1-3 at home. They are once again tied for first place in the NEC Standings with 13 points.

Le Moyne outshot the Bison 11-3 during the 90 minutes, including 8-1 during the first half.

Sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) collected his sixth clean sheet during the win, which is tied for the most among all NEC goalkeepers. He also lowered his goals against average to .846, which is by far the best mark in the conference and is tied for the 25^th best average in all of Division I.

Along with Dupell, senior defender Brady McNulty (San Gabriel, Calif./Temple City/Niagara), junior midfielder Bryce Koagel (West Monroe, N.Y./Paul V. Moore/Medaille), Abdul-Malak, sophomore defender Maximilian Huss (Karben, Germany/Elly-Heuss-Schule) and Henriksen each played the full 90 minutes for Le Moyne.

With just over 17 minutes remaining in the first half, Henriksen carried the ball in Le Moyne's attacking third and drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box. Abdul-Malak stepped up to take the set piece and drove a right-footed shot over the Howard wall and into the left side of the goal to break the scoreless tie. The goal was Abdul-Malak's fourth of the season, and the eighth of his Le Moyne career.

In the 34^th minute, Pham dribbled past two Howard defenders in the left side of the box before a third Bison player stepped in and knocked the ball out of bounds for a Le Moyne corner kick. Pham took the ensuing kick himself, and sent a cross into the box where Henriksen redirected the ball into the right side of the net with his left foot. The goal was Henriksen's first as a Dolphin, and the 11^th of his collegiate career. Pham recorded his fourth assist of the season on the play, which ties him for the team lead with Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley).

Henriksen put another header on goal in the 40^th minute following a corner kick taken by Pham, but Howard goalkeeper Liam Keiller caught the shot to keep his team's deficit at two goals going into halftime.

Le Moyne limited Howard to just two shots during the final 45 minutes to secure the conference win.

The Dolphins also celebrated Senior Day prior to the match, recognizing Jack Goodrich (Kelsall, England/King's School Chester), Carter Jackson (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse/SUNY Cortland) and Michael Lantry (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Syracuse/DePaul) with a ceremony on Ted Grant Field.

The Dolphins now have two NEC matches remaining on their regular season schedule. Le Moyne will play its final road game on November 3 at Saint Francis, then will conclude the regular season on November 7 at home against LIU.

NEC Standings:
Le Moyne, Saint Francis and Mercyhurst are all tied for first in the league standings with 13 points each, followed by FDU (10 points), LIU (8 points), Howard (7 points), Stonehill (5 points), Chicago State (4 points) and Central Connecticut State (0 points). The top four teams in the NEC Standings will qualify for the NEC Tournament, however Mercyhurst is ineligible from competing in the tournament until 2026 due to reclassification restrictions.