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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — CJ Kirst has conquered college lacrosse. The king has claimed his throne. Nobody’s going to knock him off anytime soon.

Across four years at Cornell, Kirst rewrote the record books. Two hundred forty-seven all-time goals, the most in NCAA history. Eighty-two goals in a season, tied with UAlbany’s Miles Thomson (2014) and Yale’s Jon Reese (1990) for the most ever. He sits alone as collegiate lacrosse’s most accomplished player in the modern era.

Kirst’s legacy was already cemented before Monday’s National Championship. His 108 points across 2025 made him a shoo-in for the Tewaaraton Award. However, one accolade was missing from his laundry list of career accomplishments: participating in a dogpile on Memorial Day.

Feeling the elation of lifting the trophy over his head, running to a red sea of rabid supporters and celebrating like there was no tomorrow. Feeling the warm grasp of his four brothers, Connor, Colin, Cole and Caden, along with his mom Michelle, who’d supported him his entire career. It all escaped him.

He came ever-so-close as a freshman, falling to Maryland in the 2022 National Championship. It took three years, but Kirst finally got his revenge. He did it in the only way he could: pure domination.

Kirst concluded a historic season with a legendary performance, scoring six goals in the National Championship as No. 1 seed Cornell (18-1, 6-0 Ivy League) took down No. 2 seed Maryland (14-4, 3-2 Big Ten) 13-10. Kirst simply wouldn’t let the Big Red lose, tying Paul Rabil’s record for the most goals scored in a national title game. He turned a slow start — going scoreless for the first 28 minutes — into a five-goal second-half explosion. Kirst scored or assisted six out of Cornell’s seven goals in the final 30 minutes, earning the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player Award and helping the Big Red to their first National Championship since 1977.

Kirst was late to the Cornell dogpile. First, he needed to embrace fellow attackers Ryan Goldstein and Michael Long. The trio combined for 282 points this season as the driving force behind the Big Red.

Once that was over, Kirst flung his stick as high as possible. Soon, his right glove came off, then his left. Seconds later, he unstrapped his helmet. He turned around before wrapping his arms around Long again. One last hug after nearly a decade of playing together, stretching back to their high school days at the Delbarton School (New Jersey). All the hard work had paid off.

Eventually, Kirst found himself on top of the heap of players. He reached across the group of sweaty limbs, looking to grab onto someone. Soon, the pile dissipated and hugs were handed out. Kirst squeezed anyone he could find.

“We did it. Dogpile,” an out-of-breath Kirst could be heard saying to Cornell midfielder Walker Wallace on the ESPN broadcast.

Part one of the celebration concluded. The next? Bring the trophy back to the Cornell faithful. There was only one person to initiate that: Kirst. Bearing a grin as wide as any, he jogged across Gillette Stadium without a care in the world. He conquered lacrosse’s most prominent peak, bringing glory back to a program that went nearly 50 years without a title.

Kirst hoisted the trophy high above his head. Pure euphoria.

“To have that moment, to grab the trophy and run over there, it was special and obviously, (a memory) I’ll never forget,” Kirst said postgame. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for a while.”

“No words that can really describe that feeling.”

CJ Kirst works against Maryland First-Team All-American defender Will Schaller in the 2025 National Championship. Kirst tied the NCAA single-season goals record with his 82nd score versus Maryland Monday to pair with winning the NCAA Championship. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

The storybook ending wasn’t always on the cards. Kirst wasn’t his normal dominant self through Cornell’s first 90 minutes of lacrosse this weekend. Versus Penn State in the semifinal, he didn’t have a point for the first time in 66 career games. Cornell still won 11-9, giving Kirst another shot.

Guarded by First-team All-American defender Will Schaller, Kirst remained quiet, even hesitant. Cornell head coach Connor Buczek saw him double-clutch on a left-handed shot down the alley in the first quarter. That was Buczek’s cue to intervene.

In between the first and second quarter, Buczek pulled his star attack aside. He kept it real. Buczek told Kirst he’s the country’s best player and they trust him to do everything. It didn’t have to be perfect. Kirst just had to go out and make plays. It’s what he’s done his entire college career, accumulating 338 total points.

He did just that.

It started with him isolated at the top of the field, where he received a screen from Andrew Dalton. The screen freed Kirst of Schaller just enough, and Maryland didn’t slide quickly enough. Kirst unleashed a ferocious step-down that bounced past Logan McNaney — the Most Outstanding Player in the 2022 Tournament — to put Cornell up 6-4 late in the first half.

It took nearly six quarters, but Kirst was on the board at Championship Weekend. From there, the floodgates opened.

Kirst turned the corner on Schaller and beat him to the inside down the alley, sticking the ball between McNaney’s legs. A few minutes later, Jack McDonald was tasked with slowing Kirst down. An easy stutter-step allowed him to squeak by McDonald, giving him space to kiss a tough-angled shot off the right post, which completed his hat trick. Kirst stayed hot by adding another. This time, he curled around from X to create a wide open look from five yards out.

Just like that, Kirst had four straight goals, and Cornell led 9-6.

“He’s a difference maker,” Buczek said. “He is the best player in the country. It’s not always the points, it’s not always the goal, it’s not always the assists, it’s how hard he competes, it’s how much he gets out of his teammates, it’s how well-liked he is because of the respect he’s earned within that room.

“When he gets going, we’re a different team, and he found it and the biggest moment at the biggest time, and pushed us over the hump and earned this National Championship for our team.”

Kirst’s impact goes beyond the scoring accolades. It was evident in Cornell’s 13-12 quarterfinal win over Richmond, where Kirst scored and assisted twice. Four points is a decent statline for any player. It’s mediocre for Kirst. Until scanning further down the stat sheet, where his team-high 10 ground balls and team-high three caused turnovers are shown.

There’s a level of grit to Kirst’s game. He’s willing to fight for every last blade of grass and never gives opponents a chance to breathe. That’s shown by his 64 career caused turnovers, the fourth-most all-time in Cornell history. It’s something he developed growing up with four brothers.

Constant backyard battles between them forged a close bond. Whether it was two-on-two matchups on the grass, mini stick battles in the basement or even pickup basketball, it was always a war.

“You just always wanted to get in someone’s face, make the plays and truly just win,” Colin said.

The group’s love for lacrosse stemmed from their father, Kyle. A former Division I goalie at Rutgers, Kyle coached at Summit High School (New Jersey) for over a decade. He was a steady presence with the brothers often hanging around his teams and learning about high-level lacrosse.

Tragedy struck in 2015 when Kyle had a heart attack in his sleep and passed away at 47 years old. Kirst was 12 years old. He doesn’t talk much about Kyle’s death, but his impact still rings true.

“Every single time (I) pick up a stick, I think of my father,” Kirst told ESPN in April.

Lacrosse is often referred to as the “medicine game” by the Haudenosaunee, who invented the sport. It’s supposed to bring healing, which is exactly how Kirst and his brothers treated it. The game provided them with an escape during the toughest part of their lives.

All five brothers have played at the D-I level, though Kirst steals the show. He burst onto the season as a freshman with 79 points, becoming the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

That year, Cornell matched up with Rutgers in the Final Four, pitting a then-freshman Kirst against a then-senior Colin. Cornell won 17-10, and Kirst fired three shots past his brother in net.

In the championship game versus Maryland, the Big Red fell 9-7. It took Kirst three years to return to Championship Weekend, and the road wasn’t easy. Cornell was upset by Michigan in the 2023 NCAA Tournament Second Round. The following year, the Big Red missed the tournament after losing to Penn in the Ivy League Semifinal, where Kirst was held scoreless.

Kirst came back with a vengeance in 2025. He unleashed a fury, playing the most dominant lacrosse of his career. He scored at least five goals in nine games and had at least seven points in seven games, leading Cornell to a near-perfect regular season.

“His performance that he started with from January all the way to now has been consistent, and that’s what I’m so proud of,” Cole said.

CJ Kirst fires a behind-the-back pass to a teammate in Monday’s championship game. Kirst finished the matchup with six goals and one assist, capping off his stellar senior season with a bang. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

Cole and Colin both said Kirst keeps quiet about his individual accomplishments. It’s not his style to be brash. He just wanted to complete one goal: winning a National Championship.

Kirst put his team in a good position to do so. Cornell lost one regular-season game and advanced to its 15th Final Four. Kirst may not have shown his best in the semifinal, but Cornell still advanced. With a quick turnaround, Kirst knew he could use it to his advantage.

Per Kirst, not much scouting goes into the National Championship because of the one day of rest. It’s more about the confidence and belief in your group to finish the job.

“In the second half, we were all talking about playing our game,” Kirst said. “We had to draw slides, and if they didn’t, we were able to put the ball back in and that’s kind of the mentality that all of us were talking about.”

Each time Cornell threw a punch, Maryland swung right back. Neither team scored more than two goals in a row, but the Big Red rode Kirst’s four-goal wave to a 9-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Fifteen minutes was all that stood between Kirst and eternal glory. Cornell continued to put the ball in his stick.

Kirst caused a failed clear near midfield, subsequently setting up Goldstein for his only assist of the day. Just when Kirst looked as if he pushed Cornell one step closer, Maryland clawed back with two straight goals.

That’s when Kirst came through again. He shook Jackson Canfield with an inside roll dodge after attacking from X. For the fifth time, he fired past McNaney, making it 11-9 with 6:42 left.

“You have a decided advantage when you have that guy to kind of pull you through and CJ has been that guy all year,” Maryland head coach John Tillman said.

With just over a minute left, Cornell nursed a two-goal advantage, and Buczek called a timeout. There wasn’t any doubt about who would have the ball coming out of the break. Kirst patiently waited along the sideline. AJ Larkin started on Kirst, and McNaney quickly doubled. Kirst curled upfield. Larkin tried knocking him off balance, but Kirst shrugged him off and was left with a wide-open path.

Game. Set. Match.

Kirst raised both his arms in celebration, pointing to the stands. He and the 32,512 fans in attendance knew what that meant. Kirst was going to finish on top, right where he belongs.

His performance didn’t reveal anything the public didn’t know. Kirst was an unstoppable force in 2025. He was a man on a mission. Anyone who dared get in his path he laid waste to. Maryland was the final victim.

It was the last chapter in Kirst’s memoir, one that details one of the most storied college lacrosse careers in recent memory. It was his crowning moment, capping off a season that will be talked about for the rest of time. He’s now the standard. Sitting on his throne all by himself.

All hail King Kirst.

Published on May 27, 2025 at 12:26 am
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22