Bridgewater, N.J. – Le Moyne College graduate student forward Francesco Pagano (Manlius, N.Y. Fayetteville-Manlius Syracuse/Coastal Carolina) has been named to the NEC All-Conference First Team as three Dolphins earned postseason honors, as voted up by the league's 10 head coaches and announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.

Le Moyne, which earned its 24th consecutive conference tournament berth as the fourth seed, was represented by redshirt sophomore back Vito Kreuzpaintner (Munich, Bavaria, Germany/FOS Nord/UNC Wilmington) on the all-conference second team and freshman back Mattia Boldrini (Sesto Fiorentino, Tuscany/Istituto Giovanni Paolo II) on the all-rookie team, in addition to Pagano's honor.

Pagano, who is Le Moyne's fourth all-conference first team selection in three seasons in the conference and the first forward, is one of just two forwards named to the first team. He leads the team with 11 points on five goals and one assist as a starter in 15 of 16 games played. He is the first Dolphin to score five goals in the regular season since then-freshman Cameron Stuart in 2022. He registered nine points on four goals and one assist as a starter in eight of nine conference games. He is the first Dolphin to score four goals in conference action since then-graduate student Robert Rohrhirsch (6) and then-freshman Michael Sparkes (4) in 2021.

Pagano scored his first goal as a Dolphin in the 24th minute of a 2-1 win over St. Bonaventure. Three and one-half weeks later, he gave the Dolphins a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute in a 2-1 setback to Saint Francis. He added an insurance goal in a 2-0 win at Howard on October 2. He tallied the game-tying goal with just one minute left in a 3-3 tie at New Haven on October 23. In the team's final road game of the regular season at Central Connecticut State last Thursday, he scored the team's second goal and assisted on the third in a 3-0 win over the Blue Devils.

Kreuzpaintner, who was named to the all-rookie team last year, moved up to the second team after recording five points on one goal and three assists as a starter in 10 of 11 games played. All of his scoring came during conference play. After going scoreless over his first five appearances of the season, he recorded the assist on the game-tying goal in the 23rd minute in LIU's eventual 2-1 win. A week later, he tallied the game-winning goal in the 70th minute of a 1-0 victory over Mercyhurst. Another week later, he assisted on Le Moyne's first two goals in a 3-3 tie at New Haven. On the defensive end, he contributed to four of Le Moyne's five shutouts and its 1.11 goals against average in conference play.

Boldrini is Le Moyne's fifth all-rookie team selection in three seasons in the NEC. He started 15 of 16 games along the backline and logged 1272 minutes, the second-most on the team and the most by a field player. He contributed to a defense which allowed just 1.5 goals per game and recorded five shutouts. In conference action, the Dolphins yielded just 1.11 goals per game with all five shutouts.

The Dolphins take on top-seeded FDU in the NEC Championship semifinals on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Le Moyne is taking on the Knights in the first round of competition for the third straight year.