Nine lacrosse legends — Ryan Boyle, Charlie Coker, Kara Ariza Cooke, Rachael Becker DeCecco, Sarah Forbes, Cathy Reese, Paul Schimoler, Richard Speckmann and Matt Striebel — will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Oct. 19 at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. These are their stories.

Lynn Ellen Schimoler met her husband after the peak of his lacrosse career. She wasn’t familiar with the sport, or his contributions to it, until months after they starting dating.

But as she continued to learn more about Paul Schimoler, she saw glimpses of what was one of the greatest careers in the sport’s history.

First, it was the bruised legs he’d return with after a weekend away in Canada.

“What happened to you?” she’d ask.

“Oh, I’m playing box lacrosse,” he’d say with a grin on his face.

Then it was a visit to the Schimoler household, where she saw awards lining the walls. Some from his time as a goalie at Cornell, and some from his two gold-medal runs with the U.S. national team in 1990 and 1994.

When she traveled with Paul to Lake Placid, as he did each year to play with Rusty Red in the Masters’ division, she got a full grasp for his impact on the game of lacrosse.

“We walked past about 10-12 people that came over and said ‘Hey Schmoles,'” she remembers. “Then we walked further and it kept happening over and over again. The amount of people that knew him, older and younger men, but also families. Those were all people that he touched in the game.”

And for the first few years of their relationship, that was the context provided to Lynn Ellen Schimoler — through photos, plaques and stories. Paul, ever the humble warrior, was hesitant to talk about himself and his lacrosse career.

But it spoke for itself. And today, more than six years after Paul Schimoler died following a battle with cancer, it continues to do so.

Schimoler, a four-time All-American goalie for the Big Red, made an impression immediately as he stepped on campus and leaving it as a two-time NCAA runner-up.

After his college career, Schimoler continued his career with the U.S. national team, where he won world championship gold in 1990 and 1994.

He’ll go down as one of the best goalies in the history of college lacrosse, and beyond. But as important, he’ll be remembered for being just as good a person.

“He was a huge competitor,” said Lynn Ellen, Paul’s wife, said. “There was the juxtaposition that his heart was as big as his talent. The stories that are being told are extraordinary, and I hope they continue.”

Paul Schimoler’s impact on the game started when he stepped foot on campus at Cornell. A freshman from Manhasset, N.Y. He was a heralded recruit that coach Richie Moran coveted, even though he had veteran goalies entering the season.

He enlisted help from players like Joe Lizzio and Michael DeStefano to make sure Schimoler enjoyed his visit.

“Hey guys, just relax,” he told them. “I’m coming here.”

And he stayed true to his word. He joined the Cornell program in 1985 and took the starting job almost immediately. He was a natural leader, barking out instructions to his defenders, many of whom were much older than him.

But it didn’t matter. Cornell quickly saw a goalie that let few shots past him, leading the Big Red to success throughout this career. He brought his best effort almost every day, whether it was practice or game.

“It was just hard as heck to score on him at practice,” said Cornell teammate Joe Lizzio. “When you’re going full field against him every day at practice, you remember the goals you scored on him. If you were fighting for a position and you scored on Paul, that was a big event for you.”

When Cornell took the field, opponents felt the same way. He won Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1986 en route to becoming a four-time All-American. He made an NCAA record 787 saves in his career.

With Schimoler in the cage, Cornell made the NCAA championship game in 1987 and 1988, where it fell to Johns Hopkins and Syracuse in consecutive years. He set the NCAA tournament record with 85 saves in 1988, which still stands today. Schimoler was keeping offenses guessing.

On multiple occasions, he stood tall, enduring shots from greats like Gary and Paul Gait.

“It was just amazing how he could make great players like Paul and Gary Gait look like they didn’t know how to shoot,” DeStefano said. He made them look like they didn’t know what they were doing.”

Those battles wouldn’t stop after he graduated from Cornell. He made the cut for the 1990 and 1994 U.S. men’s national teams, helping anchor the Americans to the gold medal in both tournaments.

After his playing career wound down, Schimoler transitioned into coaching. He started as an assistant for the Big Red, then spent time at RPI, Dartmouth and Saint Michael’s — the latter for which he spent nine years coaching.

He never gave up his competitive spirit, and the laid back approach to life always persisted. Paul Schimoler was one of the best on the field, but his legacy carries on years after his death.

Lynn Ellen Schimoler gets regular calls from former Cornell players, checking in on the family of their late teammate. He left a mark on everyone he met in the lacrosse community.

“There’s a different kind on conscience in the way that you travel through live and the choices you make, it does have a lot to do with his experiences of being a teammate,” she said. “There’s this code and bond that he had with those teammates, and I’m sure that helped to build him into the incredible man that he was.”

Schimoler left behind a legacy that will endure in the lacrosse community. He left behind two children, Serena and Jack, and his wife, Lynn Ellen. And just like their mother, Schimoler’s children will continue to hear stories of his impact of the game of lacrosse.

His memory lives on through those that he touched in the sport.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a program of US Lacrosse, was established in 1957 to honor men and women who by their deeds as players, coaches, officials and/or contributors, and by the example of their lives, personify the great contribution of lacrosse to our way of life. The Class of 2019 will be officially recognized at the induction ceremony in Hunt Valley, Md., on Saturday, Oct 19. Tickets for the event, sponsored by RPS Bollinger and the Markel Insurance Company, are available at uslacrosse.org/HOF.