SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Women's Lacrosse team has been selected to finish second in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, as announced today in the CCC Preseason Poll.
 
The Roger Williams women's lacrosse team completed another strong season, had another stellar season, finishing with 12+ regular-season wins for the fourth straight season while clinching the No. 2 seed for the second straight year. Under first-year head coach and 2018 CCC Coach of the Year Jennifer Fox, the Hawks claimed a first-round bye in the CCC Tournament and made their way to the CCC Championship for the fifth straight year. Unfortunately RWU couldn't collect another CCC title as the Hawks were downed by Endicott in the championship game.
 
This year's team will look to replace the void left by four seniors, including Kaelin Hogan, 2018 CCC Offensive Player of the Year and the program's all-time leading scorer. Despite the loss of Hogan, Roger Williams will bring in seven newcomers to the 2019 squad. In addition, RWU still returns seven starters from last year's team including the 2018 CCC Defensive Player of the Year in senior midfielder Emily Stoeppel (Brookfield, Conn.).        
 
Two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Champion, Endicott, was once again picked to finish at the top of the league as it earned all nine first place votes in the 2019 CCC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Roger Williams lands in the No. 2 spot in the preseason poll with 72 points. The Hawks only conference loss last season was to the undefeated Gulls as they compiled a 7-1 CCC (13-4 overall) record. They defeated the sixth-seeded University of New England, 18-6, before meeting Endicott in the championship.
 
UNE earns the third spot in this year's rankings with 53 points. The Nor'easters went 4-4 in conference (8-9 overall) last year and entered the CCC Tournament as the No. 6 seed, earning an upset victory over No. 3 seed Western New England for a spot in the semifinals. The Golden Bears are fourth in this year's poll with 50 points. Salve Regina rounds out the top five with 48 points.
 
Gordon (45 points), Curry (22), Wentworth (20), and Nichols (14) land in the final four spots in the poll in that order.
 
The CCC women's lacrosse season gets underway on Saturday, Feb. 23 with a pair of non-conference games. The conference schedule kicks off a month later on Saturday, March 23. 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 qualify for 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 Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
 
2019 CCC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll
 

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Endicott	81 (9)
2.	Roger Williams	72
3.	University of New England	53
4.	Western New England	50
5.	Salve Regina	48
6.	Gordon	45
7.	Curry	22
8.	Wentworth	20
9.	Nichols	14

 
 
 
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference