This week, Legion FC announced the signings of Brazilian midfielder Bruno Lapa and German defender Johannes Bergmann, pending USL approval.
“We are excited to add Johannes and Bruno to our roster,” said Legion FC President Jay Heaps, according to a press release. “Johannes is an excellent defender and will strengthen the spine of our team, and Bruno is a creative and versatile attacking option going forward in the attack.”
The 22-year-old Lapa played his collegiate soccer at Wake Forest University from 2016 to 2019, making 80 appearances and scoring 23 goals. He added 15 assists in four years with the Demon Deacons. Lapa was the 2018 ACC Midfielder of the Year, a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and a College Soccer News first-team All-American.
In his breakout junior season, he scored 10 goals and tallied a team-best nine assists en route to earning ACC Midfielder of the Year and consensus All-America honors. He started 20 games in the midfield, missing one due to a red card suspension.
The 25-year-old Bergmann most recently played at the University of Maryland from 2017 to 2019. He started 61 of 63 possible games and was a key defensive member of the team’s 2018 National Championship run. Bergmann was a first-team Big Ten selection and was selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region first team in 2019.
Bergmann was a member of FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt’s youth academy in Germany. He spent three years with FSV Wacker Nordhausen, making 56 appearances. Bergmann also spent time with the German under-18 and under-20 national teams.
The German defender scored one goal in Legion FC’s 3-0 victory over USL League One side Forward Madison FC.
Gunnar Sadowey is the sports editor for the Crimson. He is a senior from Elkhart, IN. Gunnar is currently a journalism and mass communications major with a print concentration and a German minor.
