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LACROSSE GOALIE BEATS ODDS  KYLE MILLER PROVIDES LEADERSHIP--AND INSPIRATION

tHE CORNELL MEN'S LACROSSE TEAM HAS witnessed personal tragedy. It has also witnessed personal triumph.Most of the players on this year's team were present on March 17, 2004, when revered teammate and co-captain George Boiardi '04 was struck in the chest by a ball, crumpled to the Schoellkopf Field turf, and died.

Among them was goaltender Kyle Miller '05, who was battling a rare, deadly form of bone cancer that threatened to take first his right leg and then his life.Miller has apparently won that battle, defying doctors' predictions that he would never walk without a cane and certainly never play lacrosse again. He returned to the lacrosse field minus his right knee joint and six inches of bone below it, where a titanium rod now resides. He returned despite lacking much of the feeling in the leg below the knee. He returned to play in a half-dozen games in relief of Matt McMonagle '07. And he has never picked up a cane.

Just as Boiardi's spirit bonded the 2004 Big Red into an all-for-one team that came within a goal of reaching the NCAA final four,Miller's spirit inspired them to a number three national ranking and another trip to the NCAA tournament this year. "Our team idolizes him as a winner," says head coach Jeff Tambroni. "We draw off his inspiration. He has persevered through life's most difficult circumstances."

"Ah, I really think every one of these guys would be able to do what I did,"Miller counters. "It didn't seem like I was going through it by myself. It's hard to see what they see. I really don't feel like I did anything special."

You be the judge.

When Miller arrived on campus in 2002 from the Salisbury School in Connecticut with All-New England credentials, All- America goalie Justin Cynar '02 was preparing to embark on his senior season.Miller, who had honed his skills in the box leagues of his native Orangeville, Ontario, immediately served notice that he would be next in line. "He was a fantastic goaltender," Tambroni says. "He still is."

"Coach T knew Kyle was the future," says midfielder Dan Leary '05. "He had him out there pushing Justin all through the preseason. Ask anyone on this team.We were just as confident with Kyle out there as a freshman as we were with Justin as a senior." Miller played in three games as Cynar's backup, and the Big Red advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in Tambroni's second season as head coach. There was no question who was going to be standing in the cage when the 2003 season opened.

"Oh, he was good," midfielder Ian Rosenberger '04 says of Miller. "Let me tell you something about Kyle. The fall of his sophomore season, me and J.P. Schalk '03 shot a lot on Kyle, just because our schedules worked out with his.We're taking turns shooting point-blank on him from 12 yards, and he's just stopping everything. So we move in to 10 yards and are shooting as hard as we can, and he's saving everything. It got to the point where it was embarrassing. He just has amazingly quick hands."

Still,Miller said he was nervous about inheriting the starting job, and he worked harder and harder as the fall progressed and preseason camp approached. Along the way he felt a "tweak" in his right knee but attributed it to a shin splint and continued to play indoors at home during semester break, icing the leg afterward. "I came back to campus and was starting to get my confidence," Miller says. "I was playing the best I had ever played."

The leg continued to bother him, and a week before preseason camp opened Miller decided to see a team trainer, who suggested an MRI as a precautionary measure. The scan alarmed the team's

orthopedic consultant, Russell Zelko '62, MD '67, who alerted Tambroni that something was seriously amiss. "Our worst-case scenario was an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] injury," Tambroni says. "We're talking about how much time Kyle is going to miss, whether he can play the season and have surgery afterward. Now, suddenly, this is a young man's life we're talking about."

Miller admits that was the furthest thing from his mind, even as he returned home with the MRI scan to get a formal diagnosis. "I suspected something bad was going on, but I felt fine," he says. "I really thought I was going to be out a couple of weeks and then be back. I was going to get it taken care of in Canada, for insurance purposes."

Instead of a few weeks, the trip to Canada became a year-long odyssey. "It was two or three days after I got back when the oncologist told me what it was,"Miller says. "He told us it was osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer that usually occurs in young adults eighteen to twenty-five. Not many people get it."

Miller was nineteen.

"Actually, I really didn't feel like I was listening to what they were saying," he recalls of his reaction to the news. Not until he noticed his mother, Sharon, in tears did it sink in. The doctor told Kyle he would walk with a cane the rest of his life if the leg could be salvaged at all. "That took me back a lot,"Miller says. "That hit home, obviously.He was saying I would never play lacrosse again. It was devastating."

Back in Ithaca, Miller had plenty of company. "Our trainer, Jim Case, gathered the team and explained what was going on," Rosenberger recalls."None of us knew if it was life-threatening or not.When we found out the severity of the disease, it was disbelief. We were blown away."

Miller had a cancerous tumor below his right knee, where roughly 80 percent of osteosarcoma occurs. As with any tumor, there was the danger of cancerous cells breaking off and traveling through his bloodstream to vital organs, a process known as metastasis. The lungs are the most common destination for metastasis of this type of cancer.

Instead of preparing for the season opener against Georgetown, Miller prepared for three months of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, followed by three more months of chemotherapy. Yet his determination to return to the sport he loved never wavered. "I was definitely thinking about playing lacrosse again," he says.

And while he was, his teammates back in Ithaca were thinking about him. "We have this little plaque in our locker room that basically says ‘Give your all for Cornell today,' " Leary says. "We hit it on our way out.Well, right next to it we placed a 35 [Miller's jersey number], just to remind everybody that there was something else to inspire us to play our best and to play as a team every day."

Miller says he felt that support as he battled his illness.He says his phone was always ringing as his teammates and coaches called to encourage him. "It was beat this and survive," he says. "I never felt that I was going through it alone. And I was always thinking about lacrosse."

By the time the first three months of chemotherapy were completed, Miller's surgeon was confident he could save the leg. Miller asked for more. "I really wanted to keep my knee joint, for the obvious reason," he says. "But he told me that everywhere the cancer had been had to be taken out. That was my entire knee joint and six inches of my tibia. There was a lot of nerve damage."

Another three months of chemotherapy, administered to kill any cancer that may have been left behind, followed. Doctors were hopeful that the disease had been arrested in time, although Miller continues to return home for CT scans of his chest every four months to make sure his lungs are clean.

By the fall of 2003 he was back on campus, walking on crutches but in the company of his teammates again. "It was the best thing I could have done,"Miller says. "Being close to the guys helped tremendously."

"He was doing physical therapy all the time," Rosenberger says. "We all saw him in there working his tail off. At first he could barely walk, then he was walking, then he was jogging. Now he can actually play. His dedication is amazing." For a long time, though,Miller wondered if his hard work was leading anywhere. "The muscle goes so quickly," he says, "and it takes forever to come back. It seems that you're rehabbing forever and nothing helps."

While Miller worked, he took Matt McMonagle under his wing and guided him through the transition from high school lacrosse to the college game at its highest level."He just wants to help the team," Rosenberger says. "In my mind he could have been one of the greatest goalies ever to put on the Cornell uniform, and here he was putting the team first. It speaks so much of him as a person."

Miller had more in mind than simply becoming a volunteer assistant coach and cheerleader, so the strenuous physical therapy regimen continued. By the time preseason camp rolled around this season, he was ready to compete."My only concern at that point was being cleared by the doctor,"Miller says, "and proving I was not a liability."

Those hurdles cleared, he began to pursue his dream of helping his teammates on the field as much as he had inspired them off it. It wasn't easy.Miller's mobility was hampered by the missing knee joint and rod in his leg--and a lacrosse goaltender must do more than stop the ball. He must be mobile enough to carry the ball upfield himself.

"As a goalie defending in a six-on-six situation, he didn't have any problem," Tambroni says. "Riding, clearing . . . he got through it. He was a little bit less of an athletic goalie [than he was before]." That noted,Miller's impact on the team could not be measured by games played or saves made. "Every time he stepped on the field, it was a victory," Tambroni says. "You like to root for great people, and he is just one of those guys. He never looks for attention, never wants people to know he has had cancer. At the end of the game, whether we won by one goal or six or seven, if Kyle had been in the game there was an extra bounce in everybody's step."

"We had some situations here that caused some tears and heartaches," Rosenberger says, referring to Boiardi's death and Miller's illness, "and we learned to lean on each other. Kyle was a source of inspiration. I couldn't name the number of guys who taped their ankles and then wrote his number on the tape before they went out there."

They did that in part to remind themselves to play as hard as they could. Their goal in every game this year was to get the team into a situation where Miller could come off the bench and again fill the role he was destined to inherit until fate intervened." Matt would run off and thank me when I put Kyle in," Tambroni says. "Usually the backup looks up to the starter, but here it was role reversal.Matt idolizes Kyle."

McMonagle and his teammates idolized Miller because they believe he embodies what Tambroni preached day after day. "Coach teaches us about being a man in society, about doing it the right way," Leary says. "He talks about being held accountable for even the littlest things.We have faced some situations over the last few years that have given us a taste of what he is talking about. It has bonded us together like nothing else. And it's just icing on the cake to have one of our guys come out and beat something like this. It has given our guys a glimpse of what real life is all about."

Originally published in the Syracuse Post-Standard, May 1, 2005. The Herald Co., Syracuse, NY © 2005 The Post-Standard. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

--Dave Rahme

BIG GAME  MAY 14, 2005

A goal by sophomore midfielder Brian Clayton with 11 seconds left in the game secured a first-round victory for the men's lacrosse team in the NCAA tournament. The late tally pushed the Big Red past Towson 12-11 and into the quarterfinals for the third time in four years. Cornell had advanced to the tournament by winning the Ivy title outright, going undefeated in league play for the first time since 1987. Senior attackman Sean Greenhalgh (right) was named the Ivy League Player of the Year, and five other Big Red players received All-Ivy first-team honors: Kyle Georgalas '05, Kevin Nee '05, Justin Redd '05, Joe Boulukos '06, and Matt McMonagle '07. Junior Mike Pisco earned an honorable mention, giving Cornell seven All-Ivy picks for the second straight year. In the NCAA quarterfinal, Cornell fell to Duke 11-8 in a game played at Princeton Stadium.

Sports Shorts

DIVISION WINNERS With a history that goes back more than 100 years, there aren't many firsts left for Cornell baseball--but the Big Red notched one in 2005 by winning its first Ivy League Gehrig Division title. (The league went to a two-division format in 1993.) Cornell clinched the crown with a 4-3 win over Princeton in the opening game of a May 1 doubleheader, snapping the Tigers' nine-year hold on the division title. Second baseman Seth Gordon '06 went three-for-three and drove in the winning run. He was one of five Big Red players to earn All-Ivy honors: shortstop Matt Miller '05 was a unanimous firstteam pick after posting a teamleading .360 mark; Gordon was named to the second team; pitchers Rocky Collins '06 and Jim Hyland '07 and outfielder Brian Kaufman '08 received honorable mentions. The Big Red had high hopes going into a best-of-three series with Harvard for the Ivy League title, but the Crimson prevailed, winning back-to-back games 2-0 and 4-2.

ALUMNI ASSISTANTS Head football coach Jim Knowles '87 has named two fellow alumni to his staff: Ricky Rahne '02 and Tim Simpson '94. Former QB Rahne, a three-time team MVP and the school record holder in several passing categories, will be the running backs coach after serving as an assistant coach at Holy Cross last season. Simpson, who played defensive tackle for the Big Red, will become the linebackers coach after one-year stints as the defensive line coach at Marist College and defensive coordinator at Washingtonville (New York) High School.

RECORD BREAKER Lauren May '05 capped one of the greatest careers in Cornell softball history in fitting style. On May 4, in her final games, the shortstop hit a walk-off grand slam to win the opener of a doubleheader against Binghamton University before going four-for-four and scoring the winning run in the seventh inning of the nightcap. May was named Ivy League Player of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Big Red to a 29-17 record. Her batting average of .496 ranked among the best in the NCAA and broke the school record by nearly 40 points. May's career average of .415 was also a school record. She was joined on the All-Ivy first team by Erin Murtha '07 and Jenna Campagnolo '08; Erin Kizer '05 was a second- team selection.

HEADY HORSEMEN After several runner-up finishes in recent years, the men's polo team collected the top prize in 2005 by downing Virginia 21-19 in the national championship game. The title is the 11th in the program's history, and it avenged last year's title-game loss to the Cavaliers. Jeff Markle '05 led Cornell with nine goals and Senter Johnson '04 added eight; both earned All-East honors along with teammate Brian Fairclough '08. The Cornell women saw their national title streak stopped at five, losing the championship contest to Connecticut by a 17-15 score. All-American pick Molly Buck '05 had a team-high six goals in the title game; she was joined on the All-East squad by Harriet Antczak '04.

SOCCER PROS Scott Palguta '05 wasted little time in making an impact in professional soccer, earning a spot on the United Soccer League's Division One Team of the Week for May 10. A second-round pick of the Rochester Rhinos, Palguta collected an assist in his second pro game after earning a starting position at back. He found a familiar face waiting for him in Rochester, as former Cornell captain Ian Pilarski '04 is in his second season with the Rhinos. Another Big Red standout, David Mahoney '05, has earned a spot with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. Signed to a developmental contract, he has played in reserve division games and served as a backup goalkeeper for the Fire.

FORE! Led by the All-Ivy performance of Robbie Fritz '08, the golf team was second at the Ivy League championship, the team's best showing since a runner-up finish in 1980. Fritz finished tied for sixth at three over par for the tournament's three rounds at Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg, New Jersey. He is the first Cornell player to earn All-Ivy honors as a freshman. Kevin Scelfo '05, the 2004 runner-up, finished ninth at nine over par.

HIGH FLIERS Performing in front of their home fans at Bartels Hall, three Cornell gymnasts earned All-America honors by placing in the top six at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals. Randi Bisbano '07 took sixth in the balance beam and seventh in the all-around competition, Megan Gilbert '08 finished in a fourth-place tie in the beam, and Cathy Schnell '06 was sixth in the uneven bars.

RACQUETEERS A pair of Cornell squash players was named to the Collegiate Squash Association All-America second team, marking the second time two Big Red players have earned this honor in the same season. Matthew Serediak '06, who also received second-team honors in 2003, was ranked 20th in the nation after going 8-11 at the number one position. William Cheng '06 was honored after posting a 14-6 record, mostly in the second position. He won the consolation draw at the CSA Individual Championships and ranked 17th in the final CSA rankings.

TOP B-BALL EXEC In May, the Sporting News named Phoenix Suns president Bryan Colangelo '87 its 2005 NBA executive of the year. He is credited with assembling the squad that posted a league-best 62-20 regular-season record this year. A CALS alumnus, Colangelo played in 42 games as a reserve guard for the Big Red basketball team.

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