Cornell wrapped up the 2024 season with a 9-5 record, leaning heavily on CJ Kirst who remained the main centerpiece of their offense. Kirst over the years has established himself as one of the most important players in college lacrosse. His ability to win dodges and create scoring opportunities kept Cornell competitive in tight games, but wasn’t always consistent enough to come out on top Without Kirst’s contributions, Cornell’s offensive production would have looked drastically different in an negative way. The Big Red had regular season losses to Denver, Penn State, and Notre Dame who all ended up being some of the best in the country. The game against Notre Dame was a one-goal battle that came down to the wire, and considering how good Notre Dame was in 2024, it shows Cornell could hang with the best. Their out-of-conference wins against Lehigh, Ohio State, and Syracuse were certainly nice additions on top of conference play. In Ivy League play, Cornell went 5-1, but their 18-11 loss to Princeton in the Ivy League Championship kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. With the underwhelming year came underwhelming year from CJ Kirst. Is this something fans should be concerned about moving into 2025?
In 2024, CJ Kirst once again led Cornell’s offense with 67 points, scoring 45 goals and tallying 22 assists. He took 138 shots, which was nearly double the next closest player, Hugh Kelleher, who had 72. Kirst shot 32% this past season, down from 36% in 2023 when he scored 84 points and had 65 goals on 177 shots. The drop in production stands out because Kirst actually had arguably more talent around him in 2024 which should have made his job easier. Michael Long added 60 points, and three other players put up at least 30 points. Even with the additional help, Kirst was the clear focal point for opposing defenses and this hurt Cornell big time. Teams scouted him relentlessly, and the fact that he took twice as many shots as anyone else shows how much Cornell leaned on him for good and for bad.
Kirst often forced shots instead of looking for passing options. While he had 22 assists, his style of play leaned heavily toward scoring, making him more predictable and much easier to gameplan for. Defenses adjusted, forcing him into bad shot selections, which led to his lowest goal and point totals since joining Cornell. Sure, some of these shots find the back of the net, but a significant margin didn’t. Kirst has not really evolved his game yet to scan the field and make the next pass when it was needed especially with all eyes on him. Certainly Kirst can make assists when needed, but he was almost too one-dimensional as a goal scorer. Kirst’s talent is unquestionable, but to help Cornell take the next step, he needs to round out his offensive game.
Looking ahead to 2025, Cornell only has 13 games on the schedule, giving them less room for error. Key non-conference matchups include Lehigh, Denver, Richmond, Penn State, Albany, and Syracuse. Those games, especially the ones against Denver, Penn State, and Syracuse, are going to be critical if Cornell wants to build a solid case for the postseason. The Ivy League remains one of if not the toughest conference in Division 1 making nothing is guaranteed.
With Kirst entering his final season, Coach Buczek needs to find ways to get more out of him. Cornell’s offense became too easy to scout last year, and that has to change. Of course, you want the ball in your best player’s stick, but the offense needs to spread things out and keep defenses guessing. Other players have to step up and take some pressure off Kirst. When all the pressure is on one individual not only does it make the team easier to scout, but it makes it harder for him to live up to expectations on his own. He has the skills to be a more complete player and distribute the ball, but it’s about getting him to trust that part of his game. For Cornell to contend for a title this year, Kirst needs to return to the form he showed in 2023 when he was an 85-point scorer.
Even with some key players moving on with graduation, there’s confidence that Coach Buczek can develop the younger talent on the roster. If Kirst can expand his game and others step up, Cornell has a shot at making a deep postseason run. Kirst is still one of the best players in the country, and a bounce-back year from him could push Cornell to another level.
