Charlie Bertrand’s career as a lethal attackman almost ended before it had a chance to begin.

Back in eighth grade, the tall and talented middie out of Baldwinsville, N.Y. was approached about moving to defense to better position himself to make the varsity team at Baldwinsville High School.

But fate intervened in the form of former Syracuse All-American Doug Jackson, who convinced Bertrand to instead make the move to attack and play out the season on the junior varsity team. That decision was the spark that ignited Bertrand’s passion for lacrosse.

“[Jackson] knew a lot about the game, so I tried out for JV,” Bertrand said. “He basically taught me a lot about what I know now. Definitely glad I stuck to attack. It’s a lot more fun that way, scoring goals rather than keeping them out of the net.”

And he’s been doing a lot of scoring lately. Bertrand hit a growth spurt that brought him to 6-foot-3 by his junior year of high school, allowing the lefty to dominate the Central New York lacrosse scene before moving on to Merrimack in 2017.

In two seasons, Bertrand has amassed 114 goals and 40 assists, leading the Warriors to the national title game in both seasons. He scored nine goals and added four assists in Merrimack’s historic NCAA title run in May of 2018.

The Warrior/US Lacrosse Division II Men’s Preseason Player of the Year has already etched his name into school history and he’s only a junior. He’s got one season left in Division II before Merrimack makes the move to Division I and joins the Northeast Conference.

“He’s one of the best offensive players that I’ve had here at Merrimack,” Coach Mike Morgan said. “Charlie could be one of the best players in the NEC, if not the best player in the NEC. For him, there’s a lot more left in his book to write. There’s this year, possibly bringing this team back to the championship in the last year at Division II. He can help us go into Division I and be a top player in the conference right away.”

Take one look at Bertrand and it’s not hard to understand why he’s had a large impact on the Division II lacrosse scene. At 6-3, 220 pounds and being a lefty, he’s a rare commodity in men’s lacrosse — let alone Division II.

So when Morgan was tipped off by former Syracuse great Ric Beardsley of Bertrand, he had a few questions.

“‘What’s the issue?’” he asked. “‘There’s got to be something wrong with him. He’s a 6-foot-3 lefty who can move and feed. I figured there just had to be a backstory to that.”

Sure, Bertrand was getting interest from some Division I schools. But there was no backstory. And that was Merrimack's gain.

The youngest of three brothers, Bertrand picked up the game after his brothers had played in Baldwinsville. His older brother, Connor, eventually quit lacrosse to play junior hockey. Ronnie, the middle child, played a season at local Division II powerhouse Le Moyne.

As Bertrand’s love for lacrosse began to grow, he had his brother Connor to serve as an inspiration for the work he needed to put in.

“There’s a lot of time that goes into [playing junior hockey],” Bertrand said. “[Connor] would wake up 6 a.m. before school and go work out. Just having someone in my house that was that dedicated to their sport definitely had a big influence on me.”

Bertrand’s work paid off as he continued through the high school ranks. He was a two-time CNYCL First Team All-League member before moving on to a successful program at Merrimack.

Morgan knew he had a recruit with talent, but he had no idea what the ceiling was for Bertrand. By the end of his first fall, Bertrand was on the starting line.

But with a unit that including stalwarts like Max Allen and Tim Towler, Bertrand was hesitant at first to take too large of a share of the shots. As is the case with many of the nation's best, there was a turning point.

Morgan had encouraged his freshman star to take at least 12 shots a game. He wanted more production out of his scorer. After a double-overtime loss to rival Le Moyne — a game in which Bertrand notched a career-high six goals — Morgan had a talk with Bertrand.

“Chuck, how many shots did you take?’” he said.

“I don’t know,” Bertrand answered.

“What if I told you that you had 11 shots? What did we lose by?”

“One,” Bertrand answered, still processing what his coach had said.

After a pause, Bertrand responded with “got it” and walked away.

Messaged received. Bertrand needed to be more of a focal point on the Merrimack offense — and he became that. He led the team in scoring his freshman season, tallying 52 goals and 23 assists. 

Not only was he a scorer, but his physicality stood out to Morgan. He’d regularly take on a double and score. He found himself knocking over opposing players during a faceoff scrum. Bertrand had the makings of an all-time great with the Warriors.

His encore? A 62-goal, 17-assist sophomore campaign that fueled Merrimack’s first Division II national title.

“it didn’t really settle in that we won until maybe two weeks later,” he said. “I was like ‘Wow, we really did that.’ To finally get that last W was huge. If you win the national championship at any school, you feel like you made the right decision [to come to Merrimack].”

Bertrand and his Merrimack teammates celebrated the national title for weeks, maybe months, until the fall season. As a junior, it was time for him to step up as a leader not just on the field. According to Morgan, the team had lacked focus in the early stages of the fall.

So a players-only meeting was arranged to reenergize the program. Bertrand was one of the leaders of the conversation. He’s no “Ray Lewis” type of leader, but Morgan said he’s learning to say the right things when necessary.

As a junior captain, Bertrand will have plenty of time to set an example for his teammates. He regularly finds time to shoot for hours on end, or play wall ball, with fellow players. And when he does find free time, he’s listening to Dave Matthews Band. He’s learning how to play “Lie in Our Graves” on guitar. 

Still, he’s focused on a successful 2019 season with Merrimack while looking ahead to what 2020 could bring at the Division I level.

Merrimack battles Yale in a scrimmage this weekend in what presents the toughest test for Bertrand to date. He’ll meet one of the defenders in the country in Chris Fake.

“I’m really excited about going up against [Fake],” he said. “We played Yale to a 13-7 game last year, but we played really well. It’ll be fun to see this year, too. What I’m looking forward to most is that every game is going to be a battle. There’s not a single game that we can just roll the balls out. We have to show up every day. We've made a name for ourselves in Division II. It’s time to go attack something else.”

That day will come, but not before another run through a dangerous gauntlet of competitors for the Division II crown.