Jorge Boza
Part of the one-two punch of the 67-68 teams, Jorge Boza was one of the most prolific goal scorers in Menlo College Soccer history. A native of Lima, Peru, Boza excelled in multiple sports during his youth including: soccer, golf, tennis, squash, water skiing, and surfing. As a water skier at age 16, he tied the men's slalom world record and competed for the Peruvian National Water Ski Team that defeated the United States in 1965. On the pitch, he was known as being a steadfast ball handler with a rocket shot, and he led the team in scoring with 13 goals in 1966 and was second with 14 goals in 1967 despite missing multiple games due to injury in each of those two seasons. A life changing experience came during his time at Menlo when he was knocked unconscious during a game against Diablo Valley. Struggling for breath, then Head Football Coach Bo Molenda was at the field and his quick thinking helped Boza back to consciousness and served as a self-proclaimed turning point in his life. "That was the beginning of the rest of my life," said Boza. "Menlo was a life-changing experience for me."
His single-game high scoring effort came in a regular season match against Diablo Valley where he scored four goals to lead the team to victory. During the two seasons where Boza and Ochs led the offensive charge, Menlo defeated a number of four-year programs including: San Francisco State, University of San Francisco, Stanford and Santa Clara. He was awarded the Charles G. Seifert Trophy following the '68 season, an award given to the Year's Outstanding Soccer player. Following his time at Menlo, Boza went on to finish his undergrad at Denver University where he started both years on the soccer team. He continued his playing career for six seasons with a semi-professional team in New York. Jorge is currently the President of TPS Global, LLC/TPS Armoring, a leading manufacturer of State-of-the-art armored vehicles for commercial, military, and private applications.
"Menlo was a life changer for me in the sense that coming from Peru to the States, I wasn't quite ready for it. It was all very hard, except for soccer," noted Boza. "There's a certain camaraderie that you can't replace from the types of friendships you make through sports. I've always been very disciplined and committed to whatever I was doing so to receive a lifetime honor like this is very exciting and humbling."
