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Virginia Men’s Lacrosse offensive coordinator Sean Kirwan just added another piece to his arsenal as the big lefty shooter Charlie Bertrand of Merrimack College has decided to transfer to the Cavaliers. Ty Xanders of Inside Lacrosse had the news first, and Bertrand will have one year of eligibility left as a grad transfer.
More movement this week, as @MerrimackMLAX's Charlie Bertrand will play for @UVAMensLax in 2021. A lefty ranked as IL's No. 6 Grad Transfer, he's a 3x Division II All-American with 210 career goals, including 18G in a jump to D1 this year (via @tyxanders): https://t.co/Ufpi93El48
— Inside Lacrosse (@Inside_Lacrosse) May 12, 2020
Inside Lacrosse ranked the 6’3, 220 pound player the No. 6 available transfer, and he has the stats to back it up. The 2019-20 season was going to be Merrimack’s first as a Division I competitor, joining the Northeast Conference. The Warriors started last season 1-5 before the coronavirus shut everything down, but lost their games by an average of 1.5 goals per game.
Bertrand showed no signs of slowing down after the move to DI as he scored 18 goals and added five assists in the truncated 2020 season. He has scored at least one point in every game of his college career (58 games), a streak that leads the nation.
From Inside Lacrosse:
An incredibly intriguing prospect heading into 2020 because, as a two-time DII Player of the Year, his success could be a symbol of his team’s transition to Division I, especially given that his 6-3, 220-pound frame is viewed as a critical differentiator from DII and DIII. He posted 18 goals and five assists in six DI games.
Over his career at Merrimack College, Bertrand scored 210 goals and added 64 assists. He put 61.2% of his shots on cage, scoring on 38% of his attempts. In 2019, Bertrand was the lone DII player on the Tewaaraton Award watch list, and he made the list again in 2020 after the jump to DI. He was a First-Team All-America selection in 2018 and 2019 and earned Second Team honors as a freshman in 2017. He’s a mechanical engineering major, and has been honored on multiple academic teams.
While Bertrand was a player at Merrimack, the Warriors ended a title game drought dating back to 1974. Merrimack won the last two DII national championships (2019 and 2018), and were the runners up in 2017.
Check out his highlights:
Although listed as an attackman, Bertrand did run some midfield with the Warriors and could do the same with the Hoos. Virginia returns a lot of firepower to the team in 2020-21 with Matt Moore and Ian Laviano coming back. Additionally, the Hoos will have the No. 1 player in the 2019-20 incoming class in Connor Shellenberger as another attack option after redshirting the shortened season, and redshirt freshman Payton Cormier moved to the midfield.
They certainly won’t be without scoring options.