SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 7, 2016) - The top-seeded and No. 14 nationally ranked Western New England University men's lacrosse team gutted out a 14-12 victory over second-seeded Endicott College this afternoon in the championship game of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament at Golden Bear Stadium.
 
Endicott (9-9) scored first, but Western New England (15-3) answered with a 4-0 run and didn't trail the rest of the way, earning the program's sixth CCC title and first since 2014. With the win, the Golden Bears secure the CCC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which gets underway with first round action next Wednesday. The NCAA releases its bracket during tomorrow night's selection show, which airs live on NCAA.com at 9 p.m.
 
Junior Keegan Dudeck (Longmeadow, Mass.) led the way for the Golden Bears with the most productive performance of his career, registering a game-high eight points with three goals and five assists. Freshman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) continued his strong play with six points (two goals, four assists), while senior Patrick Dillon (Baldwin, Mass.) finished with four (three goals, one assist) and junior Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) chipped in with a hat trick.
 
Sophomore goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) was clutch in the cage, stopping 14 of the 26 shots that he faced, including seven in the fourth quarter as the Golden Bears withstood Endicott's late rally.
 
In a showdown between two of the top faceoff specialists in the CCC, Western New England senior David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) went 13-of-29 at the X against Endicott junior Tommy Hughes (Coram, N.Y.).
 
Junior Will Jennings (Danvers, Mass.) led the Gulls with five goals on a game-high 16 shots, while senior Mitchell Tapley (Falmouth, Maine) found the back of the net four times and junior Thomas Harvey (Huntington, N.Y.) finished with three points on two goals and one assist.
 
Jennings opened the scoring for the visitors just over a minute into the contest, but Western New England quickly seized the momentum with a 4-0 run that featured goals from Dudeck, Dillon, Bard and Ward. The Golden Bears led by the same margin (5-2) after 15 minutes of play as Bota notched his 40^th tally of the season with 2:21 remaining in the opening period.
 
Endicott fought back in the second quarter, however, tying the contest at five on Jennings' third goal of the game with 5:45 on the clock. The Gulls nearly shut Western New England out in the period, but the Golden Bears regained a 6-5 edge heading into the break as Bard beat Endicott senior goalie Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine) on a feed from Dudeck with ten seconds remaining before intermission.
 
The Golden Bears took control of the contest in the third quarter, opening up an 11-8 advantage by the end of the period with the help of two goals from Dillon. Endicott stayed within striking distance, and trailed by just two (12-10) following Tapley's unassisted goal with 10:21 remaining in the fourth, but the Gulls were unable to further close the gap. Ward found Bard for the goal that effectively sealed the contest with 1:11 on the clock as Western New England notched its 11^th consecutive victory heading into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Golden Bears now hold an 11-8 advantage in their all-time series with Endicott. The two programs have met in each of the last four CCC title games and five of the last six overall, with Western New England holding a 3-2 edge.