FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The stakes had never been higher for Cornell lacrosse.

The program won the first-ever NCAA Tournament Final held in 1971. It earned the national championship title again in 1976. It seeked to end a nearly 50-year NCAA Final drought in 2022, but fell three goals short of the crown.

Every one of those games was against the University of Maryland.

On Monday, the two dynasties met again in the Memorial Day clash as the top seeds in the country. The pressure built up from a rivalry as old as the NCAA Tournament itself came to a head, and after a furious back-and-forth match in front of 32,512 spectators, No. 1 Cornell (18-1, 6-0 Ivy) took a 13-10 victory over No. 2 Maryland (14-4, 3-2 Big 10).

“For these guys to achieve this goal, to bring the title back to Cornell for the first time in 48 years, I simply don’t have the words for it,” said head coach Connor Buczek ’15 MBA ’17. “I’m so proud as an alum, as a guy that gets to work with them every single day. They’ve earned everything that they’ve gotten.”

Senior attackman CJ Kirst made it into the record books one last time, tying the NCAA record for single-season goals after scoring six for his final farewell to the Red.

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Waldman got the first goal of the game after a frantic start, and Maryland’s Bryce Ford picked up a deflected shot and scored to bring it even.

Cornell attempted multiple attacks on the Maryland goal, but were shut down until just over a minute remained in the first quarter. Senior attackman Michael Long assisted junior midfielder Brian Luzzi to give the Red a 2-1 advantage to end the quarter. Both of the Red’s first two goals came from the second midfield unit.

“That second midfield for us this year has been a collection of different faces. Our motto is a relentless commitment to improvement, and those guys have embodied it on the biggest stage,” Buczek said. “Those guys were a huge part of us starting up on the offensive end.”

Though the first 15 minutes were carefully paced, partially due to Maryland’s swarming defense and measured offensive tactics, the second quarter began at a quicker clip, both teams finding success within the first three minutes.

Cornell didn’t hold the lead for long, as Daniel Kelly buried a shot 10 seconds after the quarter’s starting faceoff. Sophomore attackman Ryan Goldstein answered after beating his defender late in the shot clock.

ahead. Goldstein extended the lead to two not long after with an unassisted shot.

After another Maryland goal, Kirst powered past defenders for a bouncing solo shot, a comeback after being held scoreless against Penn State in the semifinal .

“Coach Buczek pulled me aside for the second quarter and was like, ‘play your game. Have some confidence,’” Kirst said. “With that little word of wisdom, I was able to do it. I have my teammates to thank, because they have my back.”

The Terrapins didn’t let Cornell rest, firing one back. Maryland almost tied it up before halftime, but a big block from Dalton kept the Red in a tight 6-5 lead going into halftime.

Kirst dodged to the crease, getting separation from his defender around a screen, and scored the first goal of the second half. He repeated the feat minutes later to complete his hat trick.

Maryland fired back to cut the lead to two, but Kirst made a wraparound goal, his 80th of the season, to keep the Red up 9-6. The Terrapins responded closely after, bringing the score to 9-7, an inverse of the final result of 2022’s national championship, before the final quarter.

After the Cornell ride forced a turnover, Goldstein scored to put the Red up three. Maryland found a cutter shortly after to get one back. Maryland goalkeeper Logan McNaney robbed Kirst on a crease dive before the Terrapins got a crease dive of their own, cutting the Cornell lead to one.

Kirst scored his fifth of the game to stop the Maryland run, and Goldstein piled on to bring the Cornell lead back to three. With a 12-9 lead and four minutes remaining, the Red could taste the national championship, but couldn’t let up — a three-goal advantage with two minutes left wasn’t enough to prevent its only loss of the year to Penn State on March 8.

Maryland got one back with just under 90 seconds remaining, and Cornell won the ensuing faceoff to retain possession and took its last timeout, with Buczek sprinting onto the field to get the call. The Terrapins pulled their goalkeeper, leaving an empty net for Kirst to attack for his sixth goal of the game, bringing him to 82 on the season — tying the NCAA record for single-season goals.

“Our defense stepped up huge,” said senior goalkeeper Wyatt Knust. “After they scored those two goals in the fourth, we knew that we needed to up our communication, play more aggressive. We really brought it for those final possessions.”

The time ran out with Cornell ahead 13-10, leaving Gillette Stadium in possession of its fourth championship trophy of all time. After four straight losses in the NCAA Final, including heartbreak in 2009 and 2022, this long-awaited trophy will be the first to come to Ithaca since 1977.

After being erased on Saturday, Kirst stormed back with six goals and one assist to lead the Cornell offense and earned the Most Outstanding Player distinction for the tournament. Goldstein also had a fantastic performance, scoring four goals.

“Having the opportunity to play with Ryan [Goldstein] for two years has been incredible,” Kirst said. “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.”

Though the Red only won 44 percent of faceoffs, it picked up a valuable 30 ground balls.

Knust outdueled his counterpart in McNaney, posting a 55 percent save percentage in his final game for the Red. Each individual contribution added up to a historic Cornell team which catapulted into the 2025 season from the start.

“[Cornell was], over the course of the year, the best team. They just were,” said Maryland head coach John Tillman ’91 after the game. “They reminded me of our ’22 team in a lot of ways.”

The Red now parts with 15 graduating seniors, including Kirst, Knust, Kelleher and Long, key components of the starting lineup. However, as Kirst says, the future is bright for Cornell lacrosse, as it now has a national title under its belt for the returning players to remember.

“No one ever had any doubt,” Knust said. “Everyone believed the entire way, and that focus got us to where we needed to be.”