Photo by: Ryan Lumpkin
Freshman midfielder Wes Berg posted a dominant rookie season with the Pioneer men’s lacrosse team, playing in all 14 of Denver’s games and receiving recognition as the Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year on April 30.
As Denver heads into the NCAA tournament, Berg is 5th on the team in points with 21 goals and 7 assists, averaging 3.14 shots and 1.5 goals per game. In Denver’s 14-13 overtime loss to Loyola on Wednesday, Berg was the first Pioneer to find the net at the 3:02 mark of the first quarter, also contributing an assist later in the game.
“He clearly was the dominant freshman in a league that had very good freshmen,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “[When we were recruiting], we saw a strong, highly skilled kid. He has an amazing attitude, always smiling, always working hard. He’s a really good teammate, and he’s big, strong and runs well.”
Berg grew up in Coquitlam, British Columbia, playing indoor lacrosse, also known as box lacrosse, for 15 years before coming to Denver. During that time, Berg helped his team to win the Minto Cup in 2010, as well as becoming the Provincial Champions in 2003, 2005 and 2011. In 2008 and 2009, Berg was named the Provincial MVP and National MVP, respectively.
According to Tierney, box is similar to field lacrosse only in that it involves the same equipment, namely sticks, balls and gloves.
“It’s a five-on-five game, more like hockey than field lacrosse,” said Tierney. “They become very skilled and very good scorers, but when they first get to college, it takes a while to get the feel for the game. But now, Wes is really coming out strong. Right now, he might be our best midfielder. He just has a knack for the game; he can play both offense and defense.”
Berg said his father gave him his first lacrosse stick before he was even a year old. His older brother, Spencer, also played lacrosse, and Berg said he grew up crawling around at those games. Berg played four years of field lacrosse in Canada, but he said the transition to a fully outdoor game was still drastic when he came to Denver.
“Starting off, I really wasn’t used to playing field lacrosse every day,” said Berg. “It’s a little bit slower of a game and you have to slow the ball down. I always want to go to the net, because in box there’s a 30-second shot clock. But I’ve gotten yelled at a few times, and I’ve learned to be a little more patient.”
After being recognized as the ECAC Pre-Season Rookie of the Year in February, Berg lived up to the expectations for his freshman season, finishing 2nd on the team with 12 conference goals and helping to lead a Pioneer offense that topped the conference in goals per game (12.23), assists per game (7.69) and shot percentage (.332).
With his rookie season at DU coming to a close, Berg is preparing to play for the U-19 Canadian national team this summer in Finland in the world championships.
Tierney said that, considering Berg’s rapid development this year, he predicts great accomplishments in Berg’s future.
“He could be first-team All-American without a doubt in my mind,” said Tierney. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
