Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/21/17
Senior Ted Bergman (Strath Haven) of the Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team was recognized as the top goalie in all of Division III, as he was named the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award Outstanding Goalie by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).
Bergman is the third Cardinal in the past nine years to be named a National Player of the Year in his position, joining Sam Stanton ’14 and Spike Malangone ’09. Stanton was named the top Short-Stick Specialist in the country in 2012, and Malangone was awarded the top Defensive Player in Division III in 2009.
The latest accolade adds to a long list of postseason awards for Bergman, who excelled in goal during his final season in a Wesleyan uniform. Additionally, he was named First Team All-NESCAC, First Team All-New England, First Team All-America, and was also selected to play in the USILA/Nike North-South All-Star Game.
Bergman’s terrific play between the posts helped guide the Cardinals to 20-consecutive wins from March 8 – May 17, in which they won their second NESCAC title ever and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2009. Wesleyan went 3-1 in the postseason – it’s most wins ever in the tournament – en route to a Final Four appearance. The team finished 20-2 overall and ranked No. 4 in the final regular season polls, both program-bests.
A lot of the team’s success could be attributed to Bergman’s excellent play, as he started all 22 games and recorded a 9.45 goals-against average and 55.0 save percentage. He allowed just 197 goals in 1251:15 minutes between the posts, while stopping 241 shots. As a unit, the Cardinals held opponents to single-digits in 15 of the team’s 22 games.