Because of this, Tillman has sometimes been plugging Vaughan into the midfield position.

“Kevin has moved into a new role for our team,” Cohen explained. “He’s been playing a lot of mid, and he’s done a great job [there] in addition to scoring on the attack.”

In this role, Vaughan has scooped up at least one ground ball in nine of eleven games so far this season.

“It’s a unique skill,” Tillman said. “It’s less about talent and more about effort. Kevin does a terrific job in those situations…because he’s very aggressive and relentless, and he has a lot of energy, courage, and toughness. If he doesn’t get the ball, he can keep it loose so someone else can pick it up.”

The numerous praises for Vaughan’s talents do not end here. When asked about his commitment to the team, Cohen and Tillman’s responses were once again laudatory.

“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Cohen said. “He has a great work ethic that rubs off on a lot of guys, including myself…Guys see that and they want to work hard.”

Tillman expressed a similar opinion about Vaughan’s intangibles.

“If you think of an ideal teammate, I think he would be it,” Tillman said. “He’s a guy that works hard every day and challenges his team to be better…If things aren’t going well, he’s always about picking the team up instead of being negative and pointing fingers.”

“I couldn’t say this about everyone on the team,” he added.

But Tillman strove to emphasize that Vaughan’s success will not be limited to the lacrosse field.

“He’s the type of guy that succeeds at a place like Harvard,” Tillman concluded. “I think that he’s a guy who didn’t come here just to play lacrosse. He came to get a great education, to grow, to play lacrosse, and to have a great experience. Harvard should be really proud to have him as an ambassador after he graduates. He’s a better person than he is a lacrosse player.”