Western New England Picked Fourth in CCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Golden Bears open season next Saturday at Springfield College
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 14, 2019) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team has been picked fourth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released by the league office on Thursday.
Two-time defending CCC champion Endicott College was the unanimous selection as the top team in the CCC heading into the 2019 campaign with all nine first place votes and 81 points.
Roger Williams finished second in the poll with 72 points, while the University of New England (53), Western New England (50) and Salve Regina (48) rounded out the top five.
The final four spots in the poll went to Gordon (45 points), Curry (22), Wentworth (20) and Nichols (14).
Western New England will look to build on a solid 2018 campaign in which the Golden Bears went 5-3 in league play and earned the third seed in the CCC Tournament.
Three of Western New England's four All-CCC performers from last year are back in 2019, as senior attack Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.), junior attack Eileen Ruby (New Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore midfielder Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.) all earned third team honors last spring.
Breen led the Golden Bears with 48 points a year ago, while Ruby (44) and Miller (37) ranked second and third. Ruby also collected a team-high 52 draw controls last season.
Defensively, Western New England will be led by juniors Katie Luposello (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) and Olivia Truenow (Franklin, Mass.).
The 2019 season gets underway on Saturday, February 23, when the Golden Bears travel to crosstown rival Springfield College. Western New England opens its home slate against Castleton on March 13, and CCC play begins at Wentworth on Sunday, March 24.
