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Cornell University Athletics

CJ Kirst celebrates with his teammates following a goal during a game at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
Rich Barnes/Cornell Athletics

Kirst Named USILA Player of the Year, Leads Eight Big Red All-Americans

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior CJ Kirst earned the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year Award to highlight eight Big Red All-Americans as the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Assosciation announced its annual year-end award winners. Cornell will seek its first national title in 48 years beginning on Saturday when it faces No. 5 Penn State in the NCAA semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Kirst was chosen as a first-team attackman and was joined on the top squad by senior midfielder Hugh Kelleher. Sophomores Ryan Goldstein and Willem Firth were second-team choices, while senior Jayson Singer earned third-team accolades. Honorable mention honors went to seniors Michael Long and Walker Wallace, as well as junior Jack Cascadden.

Kirst is the sixth Big Red player to earn the Enners Award a total of seven times, with Rob Pannell winning in both 2011 and 2013. Other winners include Mike French (1976), Eamon McEneaney (1977), Tim Goldstein (1987) and Max Seibald (2009). Now a four-time All-American, he was named Ivy League Player of the Year for the second time in his career this season. The unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection leads the nation in goals (76) and points (108). A six-time Ivy League Player of the Week, he became the NCAA's career leader in goals scored and has raised the total to 241. A two-time first-team All-American, Kirst has scored multiple goals in every game this season and has nine contests with at least five, including a nine-goal effort in the regular season matchup with Yale and a career-high 12 points on six goals and six assists in a win at Hobart.  

Kelleher, a three-time first-team All-Ivy League selection, became the first-ever winner of the Ivy League Midfielder of the Year award in the league after scoring 24 goals with 11 assists and adding 17 ground balls and three caused turnovers while starting all 17 contests for the Big Red. A steady and physical presence, Kelleher surpassed the 100-point mark earlier this season and currently has 123 (93 goals, 30 assists). The senior has always played his best when the lights are on, scoring six game-winning goals during his career.

Firth was a first-team All-Ivy pick for the first time in the midfield after ranking third on the team in goals (31) and fourth in points (47) while starting all 17 contests. The 2024 Ivy League Rookie of the Year ranks second nationally with nine extra-man goals and has added 15 ground balls and a caused turnover to the mix. Firth scored four goals in road wins over both Lehigh and Harvard and had multiple points in 16 of 17 contests.

Goldstein led the Ivy League and ranked fourth nationally in assists (2.94 per game) and points per game (5.18) after scoring 38 goals with 50 assists in 17 starts. The sophomore has posted at least five points in 10 contests this season, including a career-best 10 in a regular season win at Yale with two goals and eight assists, one off a single-game school record for the latter. The Ivy League all-tournament team selection ranks third on the team in ground balls (35) and was added to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List in the middle of the season. 

Cascadden was one of just three players to earn unanimous first-team All-Ivy league honors, joining Kirst and Princeton's first-team All-American Coulter Mackesy. Cascadden led the Ivy League and ranked ninth nationally while winning 62 percent of his faceoffs on the season. He was even better in Ivy play, winning faceoffs at a .648 clip while averaging 8.5 ground balls per game. Cascadden was also a weapon once he won the faceoffs, scoring nine goals and dishing off an assist – including scoring twice in a win over Hobart. He has won better than 50 percent of the restarts in 15 of 17 games, and at least 15 total in 10 contests, including seven of the past nine.

Singer was Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-league choice after posting 19 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers while starting all 17 contests. A lockdown defender, Singer is often matched up with the opponents' top scorers and led a defense that allowed just 9.7 goals per game in conference play and has held opponents to 27 percent shooting. Singer ranks among the school's career leaders in caused turnovers with 37.

A converted goalkeeper, Wallace earns his first All-America honor after garnering first-team All-Ivy accolades after seeing action in all 17 contests with the pole. He registered 17 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers while scoring three times. He has done a good job staying out of the box, serving just two penalties during the season. Wallace had three caused turnovers in a 10-8 slugfest win over Dartmouth and had two in a season-opening win at Lehigh.

One of the nation's active scoring leaders and just the sixth player in school history to surpass 200 career points, Long ranks third on the team in points (67) and is second in assists (38) with four game-winning goals and a 43 percent shooting percentage. He opened the season with three goals and four assists in a victory at Lehigh, one of three games this season with at least six points. Long has added 28 ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers.
 
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