The Terps trip at the final hurdle for the second straight year.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Entering Monday’s national championship game, the biggest storyline was the health of star attacker CJ Kirst.
Kirst, who is the heavy favorite to win the Tewaaraton Award, was held pointless for the first time ever in Cornell’s semifinal victory. Rumors abounded that he was playing injured — some called it his leg, some called it his hand. With its defense already playing at an elite level, Maryland seemed to have a golden opportunity.
But according to head coach John Tillman, Maryland didn’t prep like he was injured. And if Kirst was, he didn’t play like it. After being scoreless for 28 minutes, Kirst went on to pot six goals. He finished with 82 on the year, tied for the most in a single season in Division I history.
Led by its stars — Ryan Goldstein also had four goals — No. 2-seed Cornell overpowered No. 2-seed Maryland, 13-10, to avenge the Terps’ 2022 championship win and deliver the program its first national championship since 1977.
“Yeah, sucks it’s over,” Eric Kolar said, audibly emotional. “Put a lot in throughout the year. A lot of these guys been there since day one for us. It’s tough… something we’re never going to forget.”
From the whistle, it was clear the game would be a gutsy, nervy, Big-Ten style matchup. On the tense opening faceoff, a 15-second scrum ensued, with both teams wrestling and checking for the ball before Jack McDonald scooped it up.
Cornell drew first blood, converting after a flurry of early Maryland shots were stopped by goalkeeper Wyatt Knust.
Despite the underlying statistics — which rank the Big Red as the best offense in the nation — Maryland was the more threatening team early on. Bryce Ford leveled the game midway through the first quarter after a shot by Matthew Keegan was blocked by a defender.
Early on, the Big Red adjusted to what Maryland gave them. Cornell played methodically, utilizing the entire offensive spread to create chances. This style earned it another goal late in the first frame.
Cornell’s defense was also equal to Maryland. They moved well as the Terps tried to cut and dodge, forcing Maryland into less-than-ideal shots all game.
The next Maryland breakthrough came at the start of the second period. A pivotal scoop off the faceoff from AJ Larkin set him on a mazy run. He found Daniel Kelly, who scored for the 11th straight game.
“There were a lot of ground balls today,” Tillman said. “I would say we got some of them, but I thought there were a lot of 50/50 grounders in the middle. And in those tough ones, I felt like they got more than we did.”
Individual brilliance from Cornell’s Goldstein and Maryland’s Eric Spanos — each of whom were named to the All-Tournament Team — got the game to 3-3.
From there, the scoring picked up. Andrew Dalton and Goldstein each beat McNaney, who finished with 11 saves and 13 goals conceded. Spanos got one back, but Kirst scored his first goal of championship weekend with two minutes to go in the half, giving Cornell a lift.
Maryland needed a response before the half, and Jack Schultz delivered, scoring a rocket from 15 yards out. The Terps almost had another goal on a wild cross-field sequence and carried momentum into the third quarter, continuing to threaten but fall short.
A shot from Daniel Kelly hit the post — the second of the game for Maryland — and the Terps failed to convert their first three possessions of the half.
In the meantime, Kirst woke up. The senior attacker, who was on the field when Maryland beat Cornell in the 2022 title game, found his usual gear, scoring two solo goals in four minutes.
“If you have a guy that can put you on his back… not every [championship] team has one, but you have a decided advantage,” Tillman said.
Maryland needed a response quickly. But after surviving another Big Red possession, they again hit the post.
Kirst and Spanos traded goals late in the frame — Kirst’s was his 80th of the season, just the third-ever player to reach that threshold — and Maryland entered the fourth quarter down 9-7.
And then, it was 10 — the Terps failed a clear against Cornell’s aggressive ride, and Kirst found Goldstein for a transition score.
“We didn’t do a great job with our spacing [on clears]… and part of it was we were gassed,” Tillman said. “But their ride is so good.”
The Terps still fought. Braden Erksa converted a behind-the-net alley-oop from Spanos, who finished with a team-high four points, and Elijah Stobaugh crashed the net to draw Maryland within one.
But the Terps fell short in the margins. A crucial Spanos shot was saved by Knust. And after Kirst scored again to restore a two-goal lead, Maryland committed two turnovers — one on the faceoff, one on the clear. Goldstein converted the possession, killing any chance to come back.
Whittier got a goal back with 82 seconds left on the clock, but an empty net goal from Kirst with 50 seconds left sealed the Terps’ demise.
“The goal is always to be here this weekend and specifically this day,” Schaller said. “That’s what you’re signing up for when you come to Maryland. And… that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. That means you’re signing up to climb that mountain… we’re not going to forget and we’re going to put everything we have into it to get back here next year.”
Three things to know
1. Faceoffs falter when they’re needed most. Maryland won 15-of-27 faceoffs in Monday’s game, but Cornell seemed to have many more possessions out of the faceoff — their wings collapsed on the ball, forcing several turnovers just after the official win was recorded.
To start the second half, Maryland won just 1-of-4 faceoffs — and the one it won, it couldn’t hold onto for 15 seconds. That gave the Big Red extra opportunities, where they stretched their advantage.
2. Clearing collapse late. All season long, Maryland has been able to rely on its clears transitioning the ball from defense to attack — the Terps had the second-best clear success percentage in the country entering Monday. But Cornell’s attackers found an advantage in the fourth quarter, forcing three failed clears and scoring directly off of each one.
3. Monday miss for Maryland once again. The Terps have advanced to nine national championship games in 14 tournaments under Tillman, but they are just 2-7 on Memorial Day. They have won one and lost three of the last five national championship games.
“I always look at myself and go, ‘What could I have done differently? And how could I have set them up for success?’” Tillman said. “Our kids have done everything we’ve asked, they’ve been phenomenal. And that’s the hard part.”