SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Lacrosse team has been selected to finish fifth, according to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Preseason Poll announced today.
 
Roger Williams seeks to claim the program's first-ever CCC Championship. After clinching the No. 6 seed on the final day of the regular season, the Hawks advanced to the CCC Quarterfinals against third-seeded Curry. In the playoffs, the Hawks avenged a 13-11 loss to the Colonels with a 12-10 victory to advance to the CCC Semifinals. Unfortunately, RWU succumbed to Endicott 5-8 in the semifinals.
 
This year's team has a strong balance of returning veterans and newcomers, with 13 first-year players and 16 upperclassmen. The Hawks will rely on this balance to provide strong depth throughout the season. Roger Williams returns three 2018 All-CCC players, including two-time All-CCC First Team defender Shawn Errasti (Duxbury, Mass.).
 
Winners of five of the last seven Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament Championships, Western New England was selected as the favorite to win another title in 2019. The Golden Bears earned 79 points in the poll, including seven first place votes. Voting was completed last week by the league's nine men's lacrosse head coaches.
 
Endicott will once again be in contention for the top spot in the conference as they land in the No. 2 slot in this year's poll. They received 71 points and the remaining two first place votes. Last season, Endicott put together a 6-2 conference (7-11 overall) season and earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. It defeated No. 6 seed Roger Williams, 8-5, in the semifinals before succumbing to WNE.
 
Curry, which went 5-3 in conference (10-6 overall) play last year, landed in the third slot in the poll with 63 points. The other three 2018 CCC Quarterfinal participants, the University of New England (51 points), Roger Williams (47), and Salve Regina (36), were the next three in the poll in that order. All three teams went 4-4 in CCC play last year. The two Rhode Island teams were able to earn wins on the road, knocking off the higher seeds for a spot in the CCC Semifinals.
 
Nichols (25), Wentworth (20), and Gordon (13) rounded out the 2019 poll in that order.
 
Salve Regina gets the men's lacrosse season started on Saturday, Feb. 16 with a non-conference matchup with Clark. The remaining CCC teams start their seasons in the following weeks. The conference schedule kicks off with a single-game between Salve Regina and Endicott on Saturday, March 2. The first full conference play date is Saturday, March 23. Due to a change in the conference bylaws regarding the number of teams that qualify for conference tournaments, the top seven teams will gain entry to this year's championship. The Tournament will begin with the quarterfinal round on Saturday, April 27, followed by the semifinals on Tuesday, April 30. The CCC Tournament Championship will take place on Friday, May 3. The CCC Tournament Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier in to the 2019 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship.
 
 
2019 CCC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll
 

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Western New England	79 (7)
2.	Endicott	71 (2)
3.	Curry	63
4.	University of New England	51
5.	Roger Williams	47
6.	Salve Regina	36
7.	Nichols	25
8.	Wentworth	20
9.	Gordon	13

 
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference