Western New England Sweeps CCC Weekly Awards Following Championship Run
Ward named Offensive POW, Kerr (Defensive POW), Cocks (Specialist) & Greer (Rookie) also recognized
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 7, 2018) – Western New England University swept the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) weekly awards following the Golden Bears' run to their seventh CCC championship last week, the league office announced on Monday.
Junior attackman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) was named the CCC Offensive Player of the Week, while senior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) earned Defensive Player of the Week honors, junior faceoff specialist Hunter Cocks (Walden, N.Y.) received his fourth Specialist of the Week award, and freshman midfielder Matthew Greer (South Windsor, Conn.) was recognized as the Rookie of the Week.
The Golden Bears rolled to an 18-5 victory over Salve Regina in the semifinal round on Tuesday, before holding off Endicott 10-6 for the CCC title on Friday.
Ward helped fuel the Western New England offense with a team-high seven goals over the two-game stretch. He scored twice and collected four ground balls against the Seahawks, before burying five goals in the championship victory over Endicott.
Kerr was strong in the cage with a 5.54 goals against average and a 77.2 save percentage. He stopped 16 of the 20 shots he faced in the semis on Tuesday and made ten saves, including five in the final quarter, in Friday's title-clinching win.
Cocks won 23-of-36 faceoffs (63.8%) and scooped up 14 ground balls during the CCC playoffs. He went 14-for-18 at the X with eight ground balls and one goal against Salve Regina, before going 9-for-18 with six ground balls against the Gulls.
Greer chipped in with four points to earn his first career CCC weekly honor. The freshman produced one goal and one assist with two ground balls in each contest.
Western New England (13-6) will travel to York (Pa.) College for the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, May 9th at Kinsley Field.
