Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 3-0 victory over Chicago State University in NEC action at Ted Grant Field on Sunday afternoon to claim the final spot in the NEC Championship.

Entering the game, the Dolphins needed a victory over the Cougars and a tie or loss by Stonehill College against LIU. The Dolphins took care of business to get to 14 points in the NEC standings and then moments later LIU closed out a 1-0 win over the Skyhawks, who finished the season with 12 points. As the fourth seed, the Dolphins will now take on top-seeded FDU in the NEC semifinals on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. for the second straight year, while they are facing the Knights in the conference tournament for the third consecutive year overall after the teams met in the first round in 2023. The Dolphins have now qualified for a conference tournament in 24 consecutive seasons of competition.

The Dolphins scored the only goal they would need in the eighth minute following a foul on the Cougars just outside of the top left corner of the penalty box. Redshirt sophomore Felix Ludemann (Wrestedt, Germany/Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium Uelzen) fired the free kick on target and it ricocheted off of the goalkeeper's hands and into the upper left corner of the net at the 7:50 mark for his fourth goal of the season.

Le Moyne recorded a 5-2 advantage in shots the remainder of the half, while each team forced the opposing goalkeeper to make one save.

The Dolphins doubled their lead just 74 seconds into the second half as sophomore midfielder Giuliano Michitti (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) sent a shot into the back of the net from 12 yards out after taking a pass from the right side of the penalty box from senior midfielder Cameron Stuart (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley).

Following a 5-3 edge in shots over the next 40 minutes, Le Moyne extended its lead to 3-0 in the 88th minute. Off a feed from the right side from freshman midfielder Anthony Patone (Pointe-Clair, Quebec/John Rennie), graduate student Antonino Pagano (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius/Syracuse/Coastal Carolina) deposited his second goal of the season into the back of the net.

Junior goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) registered his second straight shutout and his fifth of the season by recording three saves. Johan Rodriguez Morales tallied three saves in the loss for the Cougars.