Foxborough, Mass. - As the final minute began to tick away on a magical 2025 season, CJ Kirst '25 avoided a Maryland double team, ran straight down the middle of the field and scored on an empty net to salt away Cornell's first NCAA title in 48 years. All that was left was the faceoff and the field rush.
The top-ranked Big Red toppled No. 2 seed Maryland 13-10 on Monday afternoon at Gillette Stadium to claim the program's fourth NCAA title in program history and first under head coach Connor Buczek '15.
"It's hard to put into words - I'm so incredibly proud of this group. They had a mission. They had a goal," Buczek said. "Every single day they showed up to work ... for these guys to achieve this goal and bring a title back to Cornell for the first time in 48 years, I simply don't have the words for it. I'm so proud as an alum and as a guy that gets to work with them every single day. They have earned everything they have gotten, and I'm glad we can enjoy this moment together."
The win marks the first NCAA team title in any Cornell sport since men's lacrosse's 1977 title.
For Cornell, it marks the first NCAA team title in any sport since men's lacrosse's 1977 title, which at the time was its third in seven years under legendary head coach Richie Moran. The game also marked the fourth time the same two programs had played for a national title - and the third time the Big Red was able to raise the trophy.
The signs of a special season for Big Red fans were all around from the beginning.
The title comes 21 years since the tragic death of Big Red captain George Boiardi, who wore the No. 21 as a player - a number that has become sacred in the Cornell lacrosse community.
Cornell's senior class, led by captains Kirst, Long, Michael Bozzi '25, Christopher Davis '25 and Walker Wallace '25, reached the national finals in 2022, falling just short against a Maryland team that ranks as one of the greatest teams of all time. Their senior year made a case to put themselves in that same conversation: An 18-1 record, tying a Division I mark for wins in a season (18-1). Ivy League regular season and tournament titles. Leading the nation in scoring. Eight All-Americans. A generational talent and national player of the year.
The championship game pitted the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in college lacrosse for the first time in 20 years. Cornell never trailed, though Maryland tied the contest three times in the first half and cut a three-goal deficit to 10-9 early in the fourth quarter.
Much like in its semifinal victory on May 25, the Big Red quickly rose to the challenge. Kirst scored his 81st goal of the season with 6:42 to play, and Goldstein added his 43rd just over two minutes later to push the lead back to three. Maryland got a glimmer of hope when it tallied with 82 seconds left, but Kirst put home his sixth of the day to all but end any hopes of a comeback by the Terps.
With six goals and seven points, Kirst was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Michael Long '25, Wyatt Knust '25, Hugh Kelleher '25 and Ryan Goldstein '27. Kirst's 82nd and final goal, the empty netter, tied the NCAA single season mark of 82 by Yale University's Jon Reese (1990) and UAlbany's Miles Thompson (2014).
It was just another record to cap a legendary college career, which will likely end this coming week with the Tewaaraton Trophy.
The season was undeniably special, but so is Cornell, Buczek said.
"I think this place is very endearing," he said. "This place changes you, and for the better. And it's not because it's easy; it's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's because it challenges you and asks a lot of you, and through all that, when you can kind of see the forest through the trees, you can appreciate every moment… This program changes you for the better, and we are just fortunate to continue to live the dream every single day."
Jeremy Hartigan is senior associate director of athletics for communications.
