By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrposse.com, Posted 5/29/25
Cornell’s Ryan Goldstein said it still hasn’t hit him that he’s a national champion, even several days after the Big Red won their first NCAA men’s Division I crown since 1977.
But he sure knows what it means to his family.
“It’s surreal,” said the sophomore attackman from Radnor High on Wednesday. “I’ve been going to Cornell games as long as I can remember, since my parents went there.
“My parents are the reason why I am here, and part of why I love this program so much. Many of my dad’s friends went to Cornell. This championship is also for them. We’re so close to the alumni, and they support us so much.”
Goldstein’s connection to Cornell indeed runs deep. His parents, Tim and Christine, were both Cornell lacrosse All-Americans. Tina, was a three-time All-American from 1990-93. Tim was a two-time first-team All-American and two-time first-team All-Ivy attackman who was named the Lt. Ray Enners Award as the nation’s outstanding player. He was also the MVP of the NCAA tournament in 1987, but Cornell fell to Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in the final to spoil a perfect season.
This year, Goldstein scored four goals as the Big Red toppled Maryland, 13-10, Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Goldstein teamed with MVP and probable Tewaaraton Award winner CJ Kirst (6G) to dominate the attack and help Cornell finish 18-1.
“He’s awesome,” said Goldstein of Kirst. “He’s a super hard worker who also loves lacrosse like me. He’s done so much for this program, and he showed me the ropes. He’s a super nice guy, and I know that gets thrown around a lot, but CJ embodies that. We learn from the older guys, and now I will need to pass that along in the next two years. I have a special bond with CJ.”
Goldstein said Maryland played somewhat of an unconventional defense in the title game: “They weren’t sliding to our attack, and I think we took advantage of that – especially CJ. We weren’t used to that.”
Goldstein said Cornell’s drive to the title began after the 2024 season led to some disappointment.
“Last year when we got knocked out, a lot of the guys started working hard in the off season,” he said. “Coming into the fall, everybody bought in and during the season a lot of guys stepped up. We grew up and became a more cohesive unit.”
Overall, Goldstein – who led Radnor to two PIAA 3A championships and was a Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year in 2022 – finished with 43 goals, 50 assists, and 41 groundballs. He earned All-Ivy League First Team and Second Team All-America honors. Now, Goldstein is excited about the 2026 season, knowing he’ll need to take an even bigger role with Kirst graduating.
“I will do everything I can to be the best possible teammate, player and and person I can be,” he said. “That’s what we preach at Cornell – to try to reach that every day.”
What were his thoughts as time ran out Monday on the 48-year championship drought at Cornell?
“The last couple of minutes were stressful up until CJ’s empty netter,” Goldstein said. “Even then, I was still worried. When the clock finally hit zero, I don’t even remember taking my helmet off. I went sprinting to CJ and Mikey (linemate Mike Long). He was already balling!
“It was surreal. These are the guys you play with all year, and here we were dog piling on top of each other. It was like I had imagined it. You have it (winning a national championship) in the back of your head every day; it was awesome.”
