As Andrew Sullivan knelt on the turf at Homewood Field in Baltimore last Saturday after being smacked in the head with a lacrosse ball, the first thing that came to his mind was ‘Thank God.’

‘I’m really glad I didn’t get hit in the chest,’ said Sullivan, a sophomore midfielder for the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team. ‘It’s not something you usually say. But with what happened on Wednesday, that’s the way it goes.’

His reaction was in response to Cornell lacrosse player George Boiardi, who died on March 17 from an injury suffered on the lacrosse field during a game against Binghamton. After being struck in the side with a shot, Boiardi immediately collapsed. He was taken to Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca before he was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. The Boiardi family has asked that the cause of death not be released.

The event has touched the tight-knit lacrosse community, from Denver to Baltimore. The ripple effect has even reached Syracuse, where the event literally hits ‘close to home.’

Syracuse players knew immediately that Sullivan would be all right. Head injuries just don’t happen in lacrosse when a player is fitted with an ultra-protective shell. Sullivan only lost hearing for a few minutes before re-entering the game against Johns Hopkins.

But Boiardi was the fourth lacrosse player in the past five years to have died on the field.

Louis Acompora was one of the others who met their death on the lacrosse field. He was only a freshman in high school when he was struck in the chest and died of commotio cordis in 2000. Today is the fourth anniversary of his death.

His death, and two others, was attributed to a heart condition called ‘commotio cordis,’ which is a syndrome that occurs because of a blunt blow to the chest. It can eventually lead to cardiac arrest.

In the days immediately following Boiardi’s death, experts and media outlets thought commotio cordis was to blame. But since then, many people – including Syracuse lacrosse coach John Desko – believe otherwise.

‘People said he got hit in the chest and it stopped his heart,’ Desko said. ‘That wasn’t the case. He got hit in the side. He bled to death. He ruptured blood vessels inside. He had internal bleeding going on. Even when they took him away, there was a lot of blood on the carpet. So it was different than what a lot of people thought.’

Regardless, it will spark debate within the lacrosse community about changes in equipment. Willie Scroggs, the chair of the Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee, and Chappy Menninger, chair of the Men’s Lacrosse Committee, both vowed in a press release that the NCAA will look into the problem of lacrosse players dying on the field.

According to a study by the NCAA, men’s lacrosse ranked sixth – behind football, wrestling, men’s soccer, men’s ice hockey and women’s soccer – in average game-injury rate for 2002-03. Of course, the study did not take into consideration the severity of death.

No lacrosse players, not even goalies, currently wear protection under their arms, where it is assumed that Boiardi was struck. All field players – everyone but goalies – are required to wear shoulder and arm pads, chest protectors and helmets. Goalies are required to wear shin pads, chest protectors, a helmet and a throat guard.

But Sullivan said it’s common for Syracuse lacrosse players to eschew safety for comfort. He said that more protective padding is available, but he and his teammates choose not to use it.

‘For a sport with this much contact, we wear the least amount of pads,’ Sullivan said. ‘Everywhere you go in the locker room, guys have pads they’ve been wearing since middle school. It’s just less constraint. It’s like throwing around with a stick without gloves on. Less is more when it comes to performance with the pads, but obviously you lose the protection. It’s a two-way street.’

Said Acompora’s father, John: ‘Changes do need to be made. I’m tired of hearing about this. I’m tired of hearing about these tragedies. Unfortunately, I know this first hand.’

John Acompora said the protection for lacrosse players hasn’t evolved with the quickness of the game. While sticks – now made of titanium – are getting lighter and crank shots – which reach up to 90 mph – are getting faster, players wear the same pads they’ve been wearing for years.

But that likely won’t change unless the NCAA makes a universal rule regarding equipment. Until then, it seems, lacrosse players will continue to compromise safety for quickness and mobility.

Some Syracuse players said even after Boiardi’s death, they weren’t fearful of taking the field. But they know the risks, even if fatal injury on the lacrosse field is rare.

‘In lacrosse, you think the worst you can do is to sprain a knee or tear an ACL,’ said Dan DiPietro, a senior defenseman. ‘But when you’re running across the crease, it can be anybody.’

Said Desko: ‘There should be plenty of discussion about it. Maybe numberswise or incidentwise, (the death rate) is very small. But the fact you can lose just one person is enough to discuss it. If there’s a way of preventing it or making it better, why not?’

Published on March 24, 2004 at 12:00 pm