Welcome to On the Run. Here's what you need to know about what happened in college lacrosse this weekend, plus some little things that I loved. Quick and easy to read while you're on the run!

Today’s writeup in a snapshot 📸:

• 👀 The Headliner: Cornell Bests Princeton

• 🤝 Supporting Cast: Bucknell Stuns Colgate

• 🎯 Quick Hits: Every Plane Needs a Pilate

• 📈 On the Rise: Dartmouth

👀 The Headliner: Cornell Bests Princeton as CJ Kirst Sets Goal Record

The storyline that stole the show this weekend.

A great day for Cornell.

Not only was it a huge win against their biggest contender in the Ivy League, but CJ Kirst also set the Cornell all-time goals record with 193 and counting, surpassing Mike French’s 191 set in 1976.

firstclasslacrosse

87K followers

View more on Instagram

One of these teams is winning the National Championship.

I wrote this back on January 24 before the season started, and nothing about this game changes my mind.

Cornell and Princeton both have:

• Talented offense ✅

• Likely Tewaaraton finalist ✅

• Athletic SSDM’s ✅

• Defensive depth ✅

• Outstanding goalie play ✅

The one thing I worry about with Princeton is the play of Andrew McMeekin, who is facing off at a 37.1% clip in 2025, way down from 55.1% in 2024.

But get ready for it - either Princeton will win it’s first title since 2001, or Cornell will finally win it all for the first time since 1977 (they’ve lost their last five appearances since then).

 🤝 The Supporting Cast

The things that weren't maybe the star of the weekend, but still important.

1. Bucknell Upsets Colgate 18-17

Who would’ve seen this coming?! What a fun upset in the Patriot League.

Bucknell’s offensive stars showed up on Saturday. Michael Meyer had 10 points (5G, 5A) while Connor Davis had 7 points (3G, 4A).

Colgate’s did as well, as Rory Conner had 11 points (6G, 5A), but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.

With all the talks of how good Colgate’s offense has been (which it was on Saturday), perhaps we should have been more skeptical of Colgate’s defense.

But seriously, who could’ve seen Bucknell dropping 18? They lost to Holy Cross just two weeks ago!

That being said, Colgate is still averaging about 16 goals a game. If you can score 16 a game, you’ll probably win most games.

Unless you are playing Bucknell in March.

2. Duke Survives Richmond in Double OT

This shouldn’t even surprise anyone. Richmond is good, they’ve been good for a while, and they consistently play top teams like Duke, UVA and Maryland close.

I’ll touch on Duke in a minute, but let me go on my Richmond rant.

When is Richmond going to take the next step? And this isn’t just a rant about this game, but in general.

I get it - they aren’t in a big time conference, they don’t get that many big time recruits and I understand it’s hard to compete for an NCAA Championship that way.

But they have a great school, a great campus, a great culture and a great coach.

It’s time for them to win an NCAA tournament game.

Winning their conference is great, and I know it’s a nice achievement in a hard conference with the likes of Saint Joseph’s and High Point, but they’ve lost their last four NCAA Tournament games:

• ❌ 18-9 to Albany in 2018

• ❌ 12-11 to Duke in 2019

• ❌ 11-10 (OT) to Penn in 2022

• ❌ 17-8 to Virginia in 2023

It’s not lost on me that they usually play a great team on the road because they’re a lower seed, but I think I’m critical of the Spiders because I know what they can be. I know they aren’t some flash in the pan; I’ve seen the sustained success they’ve had. I think they can win a National Championship in the next ten years.

But to compete for a National Championship, you have to prove to the world, and most importantly yourself, that you can win an upset in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

So the question isn’t if Richmond is going to win an NCAA Tournament game, it’s when. I really hope it’s this year.

Again, weird timing for the rant as it’s in March, but I think this game was a microcosm of how Richmond is not yet over the hump.

I said I would touch on Duke. I kind of lied. I like them, but let’s see how they perform in the ACC before I make any definitive statements about the Blue Devils.

🎯 Quick Hits

The weekend's standout plays, hustle moments, and everything in between.

📈 On the Rise

Spotlighting players and teams who are setting themselves up for big things ahead.

1. Dartmouth

It’s not a shock that Sean Kirwan is righting the ship at Dartmouth, but it’s pretty impressive how quickly it’s happening. After beating a good Utah team last week, the Big Green absolutely dismantled Hobart 17-5 on Saturday.

They’re on a five game winning streak, their longest since 2004, and nationally ranked for the first time since 2007.

Colorado College transfer Thomas Power has been awesome, leading the team in points with 31 (16G, 15A) while lefty Colin McGill has been a mainstay on this offense for years.

Will Dartmouth compete in the Ivy League this year? Likely not, but with Kirwan leading the way and some talented recruits in the pipeline, I can’t wait to watch Dartmouth’s ascent.

Because it’s going to happen.

2. Elijah Stobaugh (Midfield - Mayland)

A highly-touted recruit for John Tillman, the sophomore has back to back two-goal games, showcasing his lefty stepdown shot that made him such a high recruit. I was high on Stobaugh leading into the season, and if he can continue to chip in a goal a game on a productive second midfield that includes Jack Schultz and Aidan Aitken, the Terps will continue to be the favorites for the title.

Read previous week’s here:

• Read Week 0

• Read Week 1

• Read Week 2

• Read Week 3

• Read Week 4

• Read Week 5