Princeton University Athletics
Top Male Athletes Of The Decade: No. 3 Ryan Boyle '04
December 28, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
Ryan Boyle needed just 45 minutes of his career to prove that he was something special. He spent the rest of his four years showing he was nothing short of one of the greatest college lacrosse players of all time.
Boyle began his career with four assists in the first three quarters of a win over Johns Hopkins and went on to finish his career second all-time at Princeton in scoring and assists. He also led Princeton to an NCAA championship, two NCAA championship game appearances and three NCAA Final Fours, including one his senior year that he practically earned by himself. Princeton won the Ivy League championship each of his four years.
His freshman year ended with the 2001 NCAA championship, which Princeton won in overtime when Boyle set up B.J. Prager perfectly for the game-winner. Boyle was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
From there he went on to be a three-time unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection and a two-time first-team All-America. He is one of two players in his sport to be named Ivy League Player of the Year twice.
Boyle led Division I in assists twice and the Ivy League in scoring three times and holds the Ivy League records for assists in a season and career.
As a senior, he has led a mostly inexperienced group back to the Final Four, and in the quarterfinals, he played one of the most remarkable games a Princeton athlete ever has, scoring two goals in the final 1:55, including one with 12 seconds left, to send the game to overtime and then assisting perfectly on the game-winning goal in overtime. He did all this matched up against perhaps the best defenseman in college lacrosse.
Boyle has won a World Championship with the United States national team and will be playing in his third World Championship this coming summer. He has also won three Major League Lacrosse titles and is recognized as one of the best players in the world.