Western New England Tabbed Fourth in CCC Preseason Coaches Poll
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (August 24, 2016) – The Western New England University men's soccer team has been tabbed to finish fourth in the 2016 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released today by the league office.
Western New England collected 67 points in a vote of the conference's ten head coaches on its way to fourth place in the poll. Defending CCC champion Gordon was selected as the preseason favorite with six first place votes and 94 points, while 2015 regular season champion Endicott earned three first place nods and 90 total points. Wentworth rounded out the top three, finishing with 76 points and the final first place tally.
Western New England will be looking to build on a successful 2015 campaign in which the Golden Bears posted an 8-1 record in CCC play (11-9 overall) and earned the No. 2 seed in the CCC Tournament. Three All-CCC performers from last season's squad return in 2016, led by junior forward Troy Remillard (Palmer, Mass.), who earned first team honors as a sophomore last fall.
Remillard emerged as one of the top players in the conference in 2015, ranking second in the CCC in goals (11) and third in points (24) during the regular season. Also back for Western New England is senior midfielder Neil Williams (Brewster, N.Y.), a second team All-CCC selection last season, and senior goalkeeper Kevin Strobel (Rockland, Mass.), a third team performer. Williams, Strobel and classmate Brandon Bolger (Saratoga, N.Y.) will serve as team captains for the Golden Bears in 2016.
Second-year head coach Devin O'Neill and Western New England will open their season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Haverford College at the Brandeis Invitational. The Golden Bears open both the home and CCC portions of their schedule on Saturday, Sept. 10, when they host the University of New England at Suprenant Field.
