His name was Mario St. George Boiardi but everyone called him George. I can still remember the first time our coaching staff saw him. I was an assistant coach standing on the sidelines with Coach Pietramala at a high school recruiting tournament. George was on the wing getting ready for a face-off and we couldn't take our eyes off of him. He had cut-off sleeves, sculpted arms, and looked like a fierce warrior getting ready to do battle. He wasn't a bulky guy but he was tall, athletic, and fit. He had a warrior spirit that drew you to him. We never saw a guy run faster and harder to the ball. He moved swiftly like a deer, but if you got in his way he would hit you like a truck. He was one of the top long-stick midfielders in the country, and we wanted him on our team.

When our staff met George for the first time, we were surprised because he was nothing like we expected. Off the field, this warrior was soft-spoken, quiet, and humble. When Coach Pietramala and I visited his house, we asked his parents about George's quiet demeanor. His mom, Deborah, went upstairs and brought down a paperweight that sat on George's nightstand. It was a gift from his father, Mario, and it had a quote from Benjamin Franklin on it: “Well done is better than well said.” She told us this is who George is. He is a quiet leader. He doesn't talk a lot; he speaks through his actions. Little did we know at the time how much his actions would tell us.

The fact that George chose to attend Cornell was a complete surprise to everyone. His father was a graduate of Princeton, and their coach really wanted George to play for their team. They were one of the top teams in the country at the time, so everyone assumed George had locked in Princeton as his first choice. Even so, George came on a recruiting visit to Cornell and stayed with Billy Fort, one of his old high school classmates from the Landon School in Maryland. We had a rule on our team that if you were a player hosting a recruit, you had to give the recruit your bed while you slept on the couch or the floor. During George's visit, Billy gave George his bed and didn't think much of it. In fact, he didn't think it mattered at all. The players knew that a bed wouldn't be a deciding factor for any recruit. Guys at that age are thinking about other things while visiting a college. But for George it mattered. He told his parents that it was a sign to him that Cornell really wanted him there. He was impressed by the gesture and thought it said a lot about the culture and team we were building. Most young men at that age don't think like that, but that's the kind of person George was. He was different, and, to him, actions mattered.