Memorial Day Weekend claims many identities, from honoring the brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice to the unofficial start of summer, but in the lacrosse world MDW means one thing: NCAA championship tournament finale. One team will walk away with the glory and the trophy. On May 26, 2025, Cornell men’s lacrosse cut the nets and held up the NCAA D1 trophy for the first time in 48 years.
Maryland and Cornell are old friends when meeting in the National Championship. In fact, 4 out of the 9 times the Ivy reached the biggest stage, Maryland strode in right there next to them. Going into the final on Monday, Cornell held a 2-1 lead against Maryland in their three separate meetups at the championship. Later that day Cornell made it 3-1.
The No. 1 Cornell team battled the No. 2 Maryland team relentlessly. Senior attackmen, CJ Kirst, the #1 player in college lacrosse, went out with a bang for the Red, tying the NCAA record for most goals scored in a single season with his impressive 6 goals in the championship. Kirst won the Most Outstanding Player award for the entire tournament. Radnor’s very own Ryan Goldstein, sophomore attackman, followed up Kirst with 4 goals of his own. Kirst commented on Ryan after the game: “Having the opportunity to play with Ryan [Goldstein] for two years has been incredible.He’s just a fearless competitor. He brings everything he has every single day. The future is bright, and I know he’s going to be Player of the Year. He’s going to have it all.” Goldstein is no stranger when it comes to high stakes moments in lacrosse; at Radnor he led the team to two state championships, earning 2022 Delco Lacrosse Player of the Year and 2022 U.S. Lacrosse All American. Goldstein and Kirst were both crucial players in Cornell’s amazing season and clinching the 13-10 win over Maryland.
Cornell finished off their record-breaking 18-1 season (6-0 Ivies) with an exceptional win, defeating the Terrapins 13-10 to secure their fourth NCAA D1 National Championship in program history. The boys are finally bringing the trophy back to Ithaca after 48 years. Senior goalie Wyatt Knust summed up the team’s win: “No one ever had any doubt. Everyone believed the entire way, and that focus got us to where we needed to be.”
