Universal Ramblings

George Boiardi, a senior captain of the Cornell University lacrosse team who died Wednesday after he was struck on the chest by a ball during a game, was remembered yesterday by his high school coach at Landon and others as one of the most ferocious competitors — and one of the fastest — he had ever seen.

“He was an outstanding athlete, just a specimen,” said Dave Urick, the Georgetown men’s lacrosse coach whose Hoyas had faced Boiardi in a game less than two weeks ago. “You just wonder how this could happen to a guy like him.”

Boiardi, a defenseman who was a standout student and captain of the lacrosse and football teams at Landon, died suddenly during the game in Ithaca, N.Y., when he stepped in front of a ball that had been fired by a Binghamton player with 2 minutes 33 seconds left to play, according to an account provided by the university. The ball struck Boiardi, 22, in the chest and he immediately collapsed. Medical personnel tied to revive him on the field; he was taken to Cayuga Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m.

Although an official cause of death had not been determined as of late yesterday, according to a university spokesman, a description of the incident led one expert to speculate that Boiardi’s death may have been caused by a rare syndrome known as commotio cordis, which is caused by a blunt, non-penetrating blow to the chest and leads to cardiac arrest. An autopsy is expected to be performed.

Frederick Mueller of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, said he is aware of two other college lacrosse players who have died after being struck on the chest by a ball at a critical moment during the heartbeat cycle. The syndrome has taken the lives of young athletes in Little League baseball, softball, hockey and football as well as lacrosse, Mueller said.

“You won’t know until the autopsy is performed, but it sounds like another case of commotio cordis,” Mueller said.

Barry Maron of the cardiovascular research division of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation said 160 cases have been recorded in the U.S. Commotio Cordis Registry.

Maron, who has extensively studied fatal chest injuries in lacrosse and other sports, said the primary condition for commotio cordis to occur is a blow to the chest near the heart at a critical moment of the heartbeat cycle. Maron added that victims are usually young and have thin or narrow chests.

“I’d be careful to say that commotio cordis is on the increase,” Maron said. “It’s like any rare medical condition or rare disease. Once it starts getting more visibility, people are suddenly more aware of it.”

Maron said he and other experts have been testing chest protectors but have had little success. A lacrosse ball, which is made of hard rubber and weighs approximately five ounces, can travel at speeds of 90 mph.

For now, all that the lacrosse and Landon communities know for sure is the feeling of loss.

“He was a ferocious competitor on the field as he was in the classroom,” said longtime Landon coach Rob Bordley. “He was just a great kid, so unassuming and so shy. I’m still really struggling with it.”

Landon’s lacrosse team will wear a sticker on their helmets bearing Boiardi’s initials for the remainder of the season, Bordley said.

Bordley’s 22-year-old son, J.R., a senior attack at Maryland, was a classmate of Boiardi’s at Landon.

“He was a warrior,” J.R. Bordley said. “He was tenacious, yet soft-spoken. He was the ultimate team player. . . . I’m just devastated, as is everyone who knew him. It’s just something you can’t prepare for. It’s such a fluke. It’s like getting hit by lightning.”

Said Kevin Shooshan, a classmate of Boiardi’s at Landon and a Georgetown lacrosse player: “What good is the equipment we wear if this keeps happening? There’s got to be something that can be done. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe he’s really gone.”

Cornell athletic department spokesman Laura Stange said Boiardi’s funeral will be held in the Washington area on Monday, but time and location had not been determined as of last night.

Stange also said Cornell’s team had not decided whether it would postpone upcoming games. The team will leave Saturday for North Carolina and plans to travel to Washington on Monday and return for a game against the Tar Heels on Tuesday.

“It’s the last thing the sport of lacrosse wants to see happen,” said Steve Sternersen, executive director of U.S. Lacrosse. “People across the country have called me today and everyone is just beside themselves with grief. We’re all shocked and saddened by this tragedy.”