Four Golden Bears Earn CCC Championship Week Awards
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 6, 2019) – Four members of the Western New England University men's lacrosse team were honored by the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) with weekly awards on Monday following the Golden Bears' run to their eighth CCC title last week.
Junior attackman John Shahpazian (New Providence, N.J.) earned his first career CCC Offensive Player of the Week award, while junior goalie Sean McCusker (Northport, N.Y.) received CCC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Additionally, senior faceoff specialist Hunter Cocks (Walden, N.Y.) was selected as the CCC Specialist of the Week, and freshman midfielder Noah Rust (Windham, N.H.) collected CCC Specialist of the Week accolades.
Western New England, which received a first-round bye as the top seed in the CCC Tournament, defeated Curry 25-14 in the semifinals on Tuesday before edging Endicott 9-8 in a thrilling championship contest on Friday.
In the win over the Colonels, Cocks won 20-of-28 faceoffs, scooped up 15 ground balls and was also a key offensive contributor with two goals and two assists. Shahpazian produced seven points with five goals and two assists, while Rust chipped in with two goals and one assist. McCusker totaled nine saves in the cage as the Golden Bears advanced to the CCC Championship game for the ninth straight season.
On Friday against the Gulls, Shahpazian registered a hat trick and Rust added two goals. Cocks won 16-of-20 faceoffs and collected 11 ground balls, while McCusker turned aside seven shots.
Over the two-game stretch, Cocks won 75% of his faceoff opportunities (36-48) and compiled a team-high 26 ground balls. Shahpazian and Rust helped fuel the offense with 10 and five points, respectively, while McCusker made 16 saves.
Western New England (14-5) will open the NCAA Tournament on the road at defending national champion Wesleyan University on Wednesday, May 8 at 4:30 PM.
