Bryan Kershner

Bryan Kershner(Born August 28, 1990) was a Jewish-American goalkeeper for BSU. Kershner was BSU's starting goalkeeper from their inception in 2008 to the very end in 2012. BSU Captain Cory Sternin made the decision shortly before kickoff of their inaugural game at Hartford City to start Kershner in goal. It ended up being a franchise-altering decision. Kershner had a clean sheet in BSU's 5-0 win and remained the BSU starter from then on. Kershner was in goal when BSU won the 2008 Evans Cup, winning the 2008 Evans Cup Final, 8-2 over Parkway. Kershner took home the 2008 Evans Cup Final MVP, the first player in MLP history to do so, and the only goalkeeper. In 2009, as the league changed some and the BSU roster deteriorated, Kershner was under more pressure in goal, and often kept them in games. In 2010, Kershner's stats improved with his team, as BSU in general were better. In 2011, Kershner missed a few games, forcing BSU to use backup goalkeepers like Rishi Sarkar and Gary Reiff for those games. Kershner returned in time for the 2011 playoffs, and played admirably in a 3-2 loss to Innisfree in the semifinals. Kershner played most matches in the final 2012 season, and got the start in the 2012 Evans Cup Final, the last match in MLP history. Once again, Kershner played very well, but BSU couldn't give him any goal support and they lost to FC Bende, 3-0. Kershner is widely considered the best goalkeeper in MLP history.

TRIVIA

Kershner had several trademarks. He did not wear a dedicated goalkeeper jersey, nor did he wear gloves. Though usually mild-mannered, his temper always came out when BSU played their rivals Innisfree.

Under BSU rules, BSU players wore nicknames on their backs. Kershner's nickname was Pika-Jew and he wore jersey #69.

Stylistically, Kershner was an unorthodox keeper. He used his tall, lanky body to make routine saves look difficult, but also made a lot of acrobatic saves on prime scoring chances. He was good at punting the ball and creating plays to teammates, but sometimes struggled taking goal kicks, though this improved as time went by.

One of very few players not from Mount Laurel to play in the 2008 season, he was from Marlton instead. He was one of many Jewish BSU players.

Off the field, Kershner is a car enthusiast. In his BSU playing days, he got into the team spirit by driving a purple Mazda.

Today, Kershner lives in Morris Plains, works as an actuary and is engaged.