Syracuse fans should be familiar with the Kirst name. Last season, Cole Kirst was third on the Orange with 26 goals. But if followers of Syracuse lacrosse aren’t tuned in with just how good the Kirsts are, they will be after Tuesday.
That’s when No. 3 Syracuse (9-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) takes on No. 7 Cornell (5-3, 2-1 Ivy League), starring senior attackman CJ Kirst. Cole’s younger brother has at least three goals in all but two games this season, including a season high seven goals against Ohio State. Kirst’s 3.34 goals per game rank him among the top ten of all division one goal scorers.
With numbers like that, it’s no surprise that the senior is in talks for the Tewaaraton award, handed out to the nation’s best lacrosse player. Beyond numbers, Kirst passes the eye test as well.
“Watch CJ play for a few offensive possessions and you’ll realize that absolutely no defender is equipped to guard him 1-on-1” wrote Kevin Brown, a columnist for Inside Lacrosse.
OH MY 💥😱 This might be CJ Kirst's MEANEST rip of the year...
— TLN 🥍 (@LacrosseNetwork) March 23, 2024
(via @CornellLacrosse, ESPN+) pic.twitter.com/22P6VJmPFd
Kirst leads a potent Cornell offense that scores 15.4 goals per game, a top 10 figure in the country. But the Big Red won’t even be the toughest offense the Orange have played in the last seven days.. This past weekend, SU played the best scoring offense in the country in top-ranked Notre Dame, and held the Irish to 14 goals, three fewer than their season average.
Syracuse head coach Gary Gait credits his defense for not getting rattled by a slow start.
“Beside the first quarter, I think we had a really good game against them,” Gait said after the two-goal loss to Notre Dame. “You just have to try to do better next time.”
That next time comes rather quickly. Syracuse has no time to waste before taking on Cornell on Tuesday. But Gait and his team have been in this situation before.
“There’s no rest,” Gait said. “You just grind out and play another game. We’ve done a pretty good job of coming off games to play games.”
The last time the ‘Cuse had less than a week to prepare for a game, the defense came to play. SU held Duke, then the country’s best scoring offense, to just four goals.
Syracuse puts its quick turnaround experience to the test at Cornell this Tuesday at 7 p.m. WAER has coverage of the game beginning at 6:30 with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Faceoff.