BIDDEFORD, Maine – Reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Champion Roger Williams will start its campaign to keep the crown as the preseason favorite based on the voting conducted by the league's head coaches.
 
The Hawks earned 79 points in this year's poll, including seven of a possible nine first place votes.
 
The league is looking forward to getting back to normal after an abbreviated season last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hawks went undefeated during the regular season last year in limited action, posting a 5-0 record and earning the top seed in the CCC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. They claimed the league title, defeating No. 2 seed Endicott in the CCC Championship game. The Hawks would go on to win their first game in the NCAA Tournament against Westfield State before being eliminated by Tufts in the next round.
 
Endicott also had an undefeated year during the shortened regular season in 2021 and has earned the second spot in this year's poll. The Gulls grabbed 74 points and the final two first place votes. They will be looking to reclaim the conference crown after seeing their three-season championship streak snapped by the Hawks.
 
Falling into the three and four spots in this year's table were Western New England and the University of New England, which earned 61 and 55 points, respectively. Salve Regina rounded out the top five with 41 points.
 
Gordon (40 points), Wentworth (22), Curry (20), and Nichols (13) closed out the poll this year in that order.
 
Despite a shortened season due to a slew of cancellations, the Roger Williams women's lacrosse team completed arguably its best season in program history, finishing 7-1 overall and claiming their second-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship.
RWU won all five of their CCC games to earn the top seed and a berth to the CCC Championship. In the title game, RWU bested second-seeded Endicott College 14-8 to claim the conference championship. Roger Williams would then earn its first-ever NCAA Tournament win with an 18-13 victory over Westfield State before bowing out of the tournament to Tufts in the third round.
 
This year, Roger Williams hopes build upon last season's success with another conference championship and a deeper run into the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks will be led by first-year head coach Amanda Magee, a 2010 alumna of Roger Williams who returns to her alma mater via NAIA-affiliate Benedictine College, where she built the program from scratch into one of the top teams in all of NAIA.
 
Though the Hawks have lost 2021 IWLCA All-American midfielder Lauren Flahive '21 to graduation, RWU still returns a majority of their starters from last season while welcoming ten first-year players onto the team. Highlighting RWU's returners will be junior attacker Ryleigh Cavanaugh (Manchester, N.H.), a 2021 All-CCC First Team selection and last season's CCC Rookie of the Year.
 
The 2022 women's lacrosse season gets underway on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with Wentworth taking on Plymouth State in non-conference action. The other CCC teams will begin non-conference play later on in the week. The quest for the conference crown begins on Saturday, March 26 with the first set of CCC contests. The top seven teams as the end of the regular-season will qualify for the 2022 CCC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, which begins with the quarterfinal round on Saturday, April 30. The tournament will continue with the semifinals on Wednesday, May 4 and the CCC Championship game on Saturday, May 7. The winner of the CCC Championship game will be named the 2022 CCC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
 
 
2022 CCC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Roger Williams	79 (7)
2.	Endicott	74 (2)
3.	Western New England	61
4.	University of New England	55
5.	Salve Regina	41
6.	Gordon	40
7.	Wentworth	22
8.	Curry	20
9.	Nichols	13

 
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference