Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Charlie Bertrand to a one-year contract for the 2021-22 National Lacrosse League season, pending league approval.
Bertrand, a three-time NCAA champion at both the Division I and Division II level, embarks on his NLL career with the Knighthawks after completing his fifth year of collegiate lacrosse as a transfer graduate student at the University of Virginia in 2021. He appeared in all 18 games with the Cavaliers, scoring 26 goals and adding seven assists for 33 points while leading Virginia to its second straight NCAA National Championship. His NCAA collegiate record 65-game goal-scoring streak was snapped in the 14-12 win over Robert Morris back on March 20, marking one of only four games all season he failed to score a goal.
WATCH: CHARLIE BERTRAND HIGHLIGHT REEL
Prior to transferring to Virginia, the native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., played four seasons at Merrimack College, where he was one of the most decorated players in program history. A three-time 50-goal scorer, Bertrand totaled 274 points – including 210 goals – in 58 career games while leading the Warriors to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championships in 2018 and 2019.
Bertand is also a three-time USILA All-American, including a two-time First Team selection in 2018 and 2019 after combining for a team-leading 140 goals and 176 points over those two years. He garnered Second Team honors as a rookie in 2017. A former two-year captain, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound forward was twice named a USILA National Player of the Year and USILA Top Attackman in consecutive seasons (2018-19), winning the former award outright as a junior after sharing it as a sophomore, which marked the program’s first such honoree in five seasons.
Additional accolades include being named the NEILA New England Player of the Year in 2019, NE10 Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the only Division II player to be twice named to the Tewaaraton Watch List in 2019 and 2020.
He was also named the Male Athlete of the Year as a senior for Baldwinsville high school, where he was a two-time team MVP and captain in both hockey and lacrosse.
He’s currently in his first season with the Redwoods of the Premier Lacrosse League, leading all team rookies with eight points in six games.