Game #8 vs. Saint Francis University (NEC)
Info: Sunday, September 28
Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Field | 1:00 PM
Watch: NEC Front Row .... Live Stats: lemoynedolphins.com
Saint Francis Links: Schedule | Roster | News | Stats

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team will open NEC play this Sunday at home against the Saint Francis University Red Flash. The match will kick off at 1:00 p.m., and will be streamed on NEC Front Row.

MATCHUP HISTORY:
Le Moyne and Saint Francis met for the first time in men's soccer during Le Moyne's debut season in the NEC in 2023, with the two sides playing to a 1-1 draw in Syracuse. Le Moyne held the advantage in shots and shots on goal during the match.

During the meeting in Loretto last season, Saint Francis went ahead 2-0 in the first half, then doubled their lead in the second half following a Le Moyne red card in the 43^rd minute.

Both Le Moyne and Saint Francis earned one of the four spots in the NEC Championship last season, but both squads were defeated in the semifinals.

DOLPHIN RUNDOWN:
Le Moyne (1-6-0) dropped each of its final three non-conference matches, most recently suffering a 2-0 setback at Niagara University on September 19 after recording a 2-0 defeat at Lindenwood University on September 14. In their most recent home match, the Dolphins fell to Binghamton University by a score of 3-2.

Redshirt-sophomore forward Felix Ludemann (Wrestedt, Germany/Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium Uelzen) scored his first goal of the season against the Bearcats, and junior defender Karl Lundstrom Svahnqvist (Lexington, Mass./South Kent/Bellarmine) put away his first career goal, while redshirt-sophomore midfielder Diego Martinez (Veracruz, Mexico/Gulf Coast (Fla.) and graduate midfielder Antonino Pagano (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius/Syracuse/Coastal Carolina) both collected their first career assist.

Prior to the Binghamton defeat, Le Moyne claimed its first win of the season over St. Bonaventure by a score of 2-1 at Ted Grant Field on September 3. Graduate forward Francesco Pagano (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and sophomore defender Andrew Piccolo (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power-St. Joseph) both found their way onto the score sheet during the win, with sophomore forward Rhys Allport (Wirral, England/Reaseheath) providing the assist on Pagano's tally.

Through seven starts in the Green and Gold, Francesco Pagano has recorded a team-high 12 shots and ranks eighth among all NEC players in shots per game.

Allport and Ludemann are tied for the team lead in shots on goal with five each.

Junior goalkeeper Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) has played every minute in goal this season for the Dolphins, compiling 27 saves, the second-most among all NEC keepers.

Junior defender/midfielder Maximilian Huss (Karben, Germany/Elly-Heuss-Schule) is the only Le Moyne field player to log over 600 minutes so far this season. Freshman defender Mattia Boldrini (Sesto Fiorentino, Tuscany/Istituto Giovanni Paolo II) and graduate defender Xaver Ehrlich (Dresden, Germany/Sportgymnasium Dresden/Florida Memorial/St. Bonaventure) have logged 588 minutes and 505 minutes so far this season respectively.

Along with Huss and Boldrini, Pagano and Allport have each been featured in the starting lineup for all seven games.

During their two years in the NEC under head coach Callum Donnelly '17, M '21, the Dolphins have compiled a 6-6-4 conference resume with five shutout wins. Le Moyne has qualified for the NEC Tournament in both of their seasons in the league, extending the program's conference postseason appearance streak to 23 consecutive years.

Le Moyne holds a 1-2 record at home this season.

During home NEC games in the previous two seasons, the Dolphins are 3-1-4.

Following Sunday's match against the Red Flash, Le Moyne will hit the road for a conference tilt at Howard University on October 2.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH:
Saint Francis (0-6-1) have yet to record a win this season, dropping their final two non-conference matches at Duquesne, and at home against Bucknell.

SFU registered a positive result at Loyola Maryland on September 9, playing to a 3-3 draw against the Greyhounds in Baltimore.

Sophomore midfielder Jonah Wolf, an NEC All-Rookie Team honoree in 2024, leads the Red Flash in points so far this season with one goal and one assist, both of which came during the draw at Loyola.

Freshman forward Thero Mitchell III, freshman midfielder Brandon Napoleon, and junior defender Harvey Skurek have each provided one goal this season, while senior forward Andre Isreal, freshman midfielder Brenna Libo, junior forward Álvaro Planas, and junior defender Mika Wernicke have each delivered one assist on the year.

Mitchell leads all Red Flash players in shots (5) and shots on goal (4).

Wenicke and freshman defender Connor O' Keefe have both played the full 90 minutes in all seven games this season for SFU, while Skurek and Isreal have also been featured in the starting lineup in all seven games.

Senior goalkeeper Braeden Sorenson started the first four games in goal for the Red Flash, but junior goalkeeper Diego Garciarena has been in net for the last three matches. Garciarena recorded a season-best six saves last time out against Bucknell, which resulted in a 4-2 defeat for the Red Flash.

Saint Francis has clinched a berth to the NEC in each of the last three seasons, and won the NEC regular season title in 2023 during head coach Mads Kaiser's first season at the helm of the program.

Saint Francis was picked to finish fifth in the NEC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, one spot behind Le Moyne.