BEVERLY, Mass. — The second-seeded Endicott men's lacrosse team will travel to first-seeded Western New England University on Friday, May 3 at 4 PM to play for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship. Here's a preview of Friday's conference championship game.
THE MATCHUP
Friday's contest will mark the seventh year in a row that Endicott and Western New England have met in the CCC title game. The Golden Bears come into Friday's championship game as the reigning tournament champions and have won four of the past six meetings against the Gulls for the title. Western New England also holds a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series over Endicott.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Endicott defeated No. 7 Wentworth, 20-4, in the quarterfinals (BOX SCORE | RECAP) and topped No. 3 Roger Williams, 12-11, in triple overtime in the semifinals (BOX SCORE | RECAP).
Meanwhile, as the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Western New England received an automatic bye to the semifinals against No. 4 Curry. The Golden Bears handled the Colonels in that contest, 25-14, to advance to their ninth straight CCC Championship game (BOX SCORE | RECAP).
SCOUTING ENDICOTT
The Gulls have won five straight games headed into Friday's conference title bout, outscoring opponents 70-37 during that stretch. The Gulls will look to their top three point leaders in Jack Sutherland (Sudbury, Mass.) (35g, 13a, 48p), Mike Sudora (Monroe, Conn.) (42g, 2a, 44p), and Will Clark (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) (15g, 17a, 32p) to generate offense. Meanwhile, in net for the Gulls, Patrick Dean (Westhampton, N.Y.) has an overall record of 11-7 with a 58.2 save percentage and 8.18 GAA.
SCOUTING WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
The Golden Bears enter Friday's matchup with an overall record of 13-5 and finished the regular season a perfect 8-0 in CCC play. Western New England is led offensively by Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) (43g, 35a, 78p), Mike Bannon (Edmond, Okla.) (26g, 32a, 58p), and Matt Greer (South Windsor, Conn.) (17g, 38a, 55p). Sean McCusker (Northport, N.Y.) has a 13-5 record in goal for the Golden Bears with a 48.5 save percentage and an 11.52 GAA.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of Friday's game will be crowned the 2019 CCC Champion and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
