Golden Bears Capture Seventh CCC Title with 10-6 Victory over Endicott

Ward leads offense with five goals, Kerr stops ten shots in the cage

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 4, 2018) – The top-seeded Western New England University men's lacrosse team captured the program's seventh Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title with a 10-6 victory over second-seeded Endicott College on Friday afternoon at Golden Bear Stadium.

Western New England (13-6) built an 8-1 halftime lead and withstood a third quarter rally by the Gulls to secure the win. The Golden Bears earn the CCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will make their ninth all-time appearance on the national stage next week. Endicott's season comes to a close at 7-11.

Top Performers
• Junior attackman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) led the Golden Bears offensively with a season-high five goals on eight shots.
• CCC Offensive Player of the Year Nick Gamba (East Islip, N.Y.) handed out three assists, while freshman midfielder Matthew Greer (South Windsor, Conn.) chipped in with one goal and one assist.  
• Senior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made ten saves in the cage, including five in the final quarter to preserve the win.

• Endicott freshman attackman Jack Sutherland (Sudbury, Mass.) posted a three-point effort with one goal and two assists, while sophomore Ben Clark (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) added two points with a goal and an assist.

Game Review
Western New England senior midfielder Justin Holl (Mount Laurel, N.J.) set up sophomore attackman Brendan Lyons (Syosset, N.Y.) for the game's first goal 3:30 into the contest. Ward gave the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead with 8:10 left in the quarter, before sophomore Nick Arcadipane (Groveland, Mass.) got the Gulls on the board at the 6:21 mark.

Western New England closed out the period with a 3-0 run that sophomore Oskar Djusberg (Abington, Mass.) capped with an unassisted goal in the final seconds of the frame.

The Golden Bears continued to control the contest in the second quarter, as they outshot Endicott 10-3 and outscored the Gulls 3-0 to open up a commanding 8-1 advantage at the break.

Endicott fought its way back into the game with a third quarter rally, which was sparked by Clark's man-up goal three minutes into the period. Sophomore Neal Parry (Marshfield, Mass.) then scored on a feed from Clark with just under seven minutes on the clock as the Gulls pulled to within five (8-3), before Sutherland buried an unassisted tally a minute later to make it a four-score contest.

Endicott would get no closer, however, as Ward scored late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to help Western New England hold off the Gulls. Kerr also played a key role down the stretch with five saves in the frame.   

Notes
• Western New England and Endicott have met in the past six CCC title contests, with the Golden Bears holding a 4-2 advantage. WNE is 13-10 in 23 all-time meetings with the Gulls.
• Endicott held a 32-30 edge in shots with the help of a 14-2 fourth quarter advantage.
• The Golden Bears were successful on all 19 of their clear attempts.