SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, MA) is finally going to play in the NCAA Division III Championship.

Savoie, a junior attacker, scored four goals with an assist to lead No. 17 Western New England College to a 12-10 victory over No. 14 and four-time defending champion Endicott in the championship game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament in front of 1,134 fans Saturday afternoon (May 3).

The Golden Bears (13-4) advance to the NCAA Division III Championship on Wednesday (May 7) against an opponent and campus site to be determined. Pairings for the national championship will be announed Sunday night (May 4).

Last year Savoie missed the Golden Bears' record-breaking season after serving with the U.S. Marines Corps in Iraq. WNEC captured the Pilgrim League Championship in its final season in the league and advanced to the Elite Eight of the national tournament.

This spring, Western New England College posted an 8-1 league record for second place in its inaugural season in TCCC while Endicott was first with a 9-0 mark after winning 49 consecutive conference matches the last six seasons. The Golden Bears dropped an 8-7 decision at Endicott in double overtime on April 15 in their regular season meeting.

Senior Jon Hayes (Waltham, MA) added four goals while senior Mike Kelly (Cheshire, CT) netted two goals with two assists in today's win.

Junior Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA) contributed a goal and assist while freshman Joe O'Keefe (Branford, CT) dished out a pair of assists. Junior Jared Pabis (Wilbraham, MA) had seven ground balls.

WNEC took an early 3-0 lead just 4:27 into the game before Endicott cut the margin to 3-2 after the opening period. Both teams scored once in the second quarter as the Golden Bears took a 4-3 lead into the locker room.

Western New England College maintained its one-goal edge at 8-7 after both teams each tallied four goals in the third stanza.

The Gulls (16-3) went on a 3-1 run for a 10-9 lead when freshman Chris Gugino (West Hartford, CT) scored an unassisted goal with 5:26 left in the game.

Kelly answered with the equalizer with 3:40 remaining and then fired home the game-winner just seven seconds later with an assist from senior Travis Brown (Chapel Hill, NC) who won the key face-off.

Savoie added a big insurance goal exactly a minute later with an assist from Kukis.

Senior goalie Chris Body (Newtown, CT) finished with nine saves for Western New England College while sophomore Eric Hagerty (Sudbury, MA) stopped 11 shots for Endicott.

Junior Dan Cain (Billerica, MA) and junior Brandon Dube (Danvers, MA) led the Gulls with two goals and an assist apiece while junior Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, MA) chipped-in with two goals as well.

Western New England College has won six straight games.