Men's Lacrosse Tabbed for Fifth Place Finish

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Endicott College has been selected as the favorite to win the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's lacrosse championship after receiving all nine first place votes and a total of 81 points in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Western New England University, the 2014 CCC Champion, placed second after earning a total of 71 points. Roger Williams University claimed third with 63 points, while Salve Regina University, the 2014 ECAC Champion was slated fourth after receiving 49 points to round out the top billing.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head men's lacrosse coaches.

The No. 1 and No. 2 selections in the 2015 preseason poll faced off for the CCC title a season ago. The Golden Bears used a strong second half to upend the top-seeded Gulls 13-8 to capture the 2014 championship. The 2014 title was Western New England's fifth CCC crown since joining the conference in 2008.

The Golden Bears went on to make their eighth appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament after earning the CCC's automatic bid. The Gulls received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Western New England ended it tournament run with a 19-13 first round setback against cross-town rival Springfield. Endicott defeated Keene State in the opening round, 13-10 at Endicott Stadium entering into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. The Gulls ended its tournament run with a 10-9 loss to sixth-ranked Tufts.

Fourth-year head coach Dan Russo returns a strong group of letterwinners which helped the Wentworth Leopards earn their second straight spot in the CCC Tournament. Leading the way is senior attackman Ryan Coakley, who had 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) a season ago and was an All-CCC selection in 2013. Classmate Michael Cushera (32 points) and junior attackmen Alec Paradis (29 points) and Nick Parent (20 points) round out Wentworth's leading scorers returning for 2015. At the X, sophomore Ty Trebbe and junior Tim Parlato combined to win 102 face-offs last season and provide depth at that spot. Parlato also led last year's team with 67 ground balls, while junior defenseman James Caldwell scooped up 57 ground balls and caused 32 turnovers a season ago.

All nine CCC men's lacrosse teams will kick off their quest for the 2015 conference title within the next week. The top six teams in the regular-season conference standings will qualify for the conference tournament, which will begin on Saturday, April 25 with quarterfinal action between seeds 3-6. The top two seeds will then host semifinal games on Wednesday, April 29 and the championship game will be held on Saturday, May 2 at the highest remaining seed.

2015 CCC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll