Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne men's soccer team gutted out a 3-2 win against Canisius University in their season opener at Ted Grant Field on Thursday despite playing the final 15 minutes down a man.

Freshman midfielder Giuliano Michitti (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton), freshman forward Rhys Allport (Wirral, England/Reaseheath) and senior defender Brady McNulty (San Gabriel, Calif./Niagara) each scored their first career goals in their Le Moyne debuts, while junior forward Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley) and redshirt-freshman defender Vito Kreuzpaintner (Munich, Bavaria, Germany/FOS Nord/UNC Wilmington), who also made his Le Moyne debut during the match, both provided an assist.

McNulty's goal in the 64^th minute gave the Dolphins their 3-2 advantage, but Le Moyne received a red card in the 75^th minute, forcing them to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.

During the final 15 minutes of the non-conference contest, Canisius took six shots, two of which required Le Moyne goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) to come up with a save, but the Dolphins prevented the Griffs from finding the equalizer and came away with the one-goal victory at home.

Both sides put six shots on goal during the 90 minutes, while Canisius had the advantage in corner kicks by a tally of 8-2.

Michitti scored the first goal of the game less than 1:30 into the match when he stepped up to a loose ball just outside the penalty area and drove a left-footed shot on frame that took a deflection and flew into the left side of the net.

The Griffs tied the game in the 11^th minute when senior forward Ely Sidibe dribbled up the right wing and sent a cross on the ground to the penalty spot where junior midfielder Kyle Pollard placed a one-time right-footed shot into the left side of the Le Moyne goal.

The Dolphins jumped back in front in the 41^st minute when Stuart sent a cross from the right wing to the edge of the six-yard box where Allport leapt into the air and connected on a header that struck the left post and ricocheted into the center of the net.

Canisius equalized again just over a minute later when junior forward Mesafint Ellingson gathered the ball in the left side of the Le Moyne penalty area and centered a pass to graduate forward Luke Szablewski who turned towards goal and placed his right-footed shot perfectly into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Following an action-packed first half, the Dolphins held the visitors scoreless during the final 45 minutes, and recorded the match winner in the 64^th minute.

Following a Le Moyne free kick, redshirt-freshman forward Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool/Dayton) gathered the ball at the edge of the penalty area and slipped a pass to Kreuzpaintner, who took a shot that was blocked by Canisius goalkeeper Alejandro Alanis.

The ball bounced in the air towards the center of the box, McNulty moved to get behind it then smashed a one-time shot with his right boot into the top of the net to put Le Moyne in front for good.

Canisius nearly found the equalizer again in the 80^th minute, as a mishit from Sidibe inside the Le Moyne penalty area bounced towards the edge of the six-yard box where senior defender Kodie Sarkodie slid and tapped the ball past Dupell, but Le Moyne center back Maximilian Huss (Karben, Germany/Elly-Heuss-Schule) was able to recover and clear the ball just before it reached the goal line.

"It's a great feeling to score directly in the first few minutes, but it's disappointing to concede two goals after we scored," said Huss, who played the full 90 minutes for the 'Phins. "But we showed morale and that we are a great team and can always come back. So, I'm really proud of the team, it was a roller coaster. We have to fix (some things), we have to fix that we conceded so many goals, but I'm just happy that we won the game and I'm proud of the team.

"We lost a player in the second half, that obviously hurts, but we like working as a team together, we defend together, we attack together and in the end everyone was fighting, everyone was running, everybody was working and we earned the win," Huss concluded.

With the win, the Dolphins improved their all-time record against Canisius to 10-0-2. The two sides previously fought to a 2-2 draw in Buffalo during the 2023 campaign.

The Le Moyne men's soccer team will return to action on Sunday at Binghamton University. Kickoff between the Dolphins and the Bearcats is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex.