Fulfilling a Legacy: Goldstein Brought Title to Cornell that Eluded his Parents

For as long as Ryan Goldstein can remember, Cornell lacrosse wasn’t just something he watched. It was something he lived. Sticks leaned up against the walls of his childhood home in Radnor, Pa., and Big Red gear was scattered throughout closets like heirlooms. The Goldstein family took annual trips to championship weekend every Memorial Day to watch elite lacrosse and tailgate with alumni.

For the Goldsteins, Cornell lacrosse isn’t just a program. It’s their family’s history. And for Ryan, growing up in that world meant the dream was always clear:

Win a national championship at Cornell.

Last spring, that dream came true, something his dad just missed when the Big Red finished as the national runner-up in 1987 and 1988.

The Goldsteins are lacrosse royalty at Cornell. Ryan’s parents, Tim and Tina (Hennessey), are both Hall of Famers there. Tim Goldstein, who became just the second player in NCAA history to score 100 points in a season, later played for the U.S. National Team and was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Tina Goldstein was a three-time Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American.

Like many other offspring of Cornell lacrosse greats, Ryan Goldstein followed in their footsteps.

“Its always been important to keep it in the family with Cornell,” said Rob Pannell, who won the Tewaaraton Award in his final season at Cornell in 2013. “Those families get it. They understand it. And I don’t think any family represents that greater than the Goldstein family.”

Goldstein watched his parents’ former teammates tell stories about heartbreaking losses and unforgettable wins and now, decades later, he’s reliving them. His godfather, Joe Lizzio, was his father’s teammate. They text regularly.

“My teammates have been around me since Ryan’s been born,” Tim Goldstein said. “I think Ryan saw that and how much fun we have together, and it bled into Ryan.”

Goldstein wasn’t gifted his spot at Cornell. He had to earn his way there. A late bloomer, he was often targeted by bigger defenders in youth and club lacrosse because of his size.

“I was always getting pushed around. Maybe I still am a little bit,” said Goldstein, who is 5-foot-9, 145 pounds. “Guys were stronger, bigger and more developed.”

But the disadvantage became motivation. Instead of focusing on what he couldn’t control, he obsessed over the things he could: his footwork, vision and stick skills.

“If you’re waiting and looking around, feeling sorry for yourself because you haven’t matured yet, you’re missing out on so much time and so much effort you could have put in to make yourself better when you do hit that growth spurt,” he said.

Pannell, a late bloomer himself, gave Goldstein some key advice. “You can’t control how tall you are,” Pannell once told him. “But you can control how good your stick skills are.”

Those skills, combined with the vision has dad was known for, have translated to success.

“He’s able to see the play happening before it happens,” Pannell said. “That’s the ultimate character trait as a feeder. And I think he’s the best feeder in Division I lacrosse.”

Despite his legacy and a “Cornell or bust” mindset, Goldstein had to wait things out for a bit. After the Sept. 1 contact window passed his junior year, he felt pressure start to mount as his peers received more attention from college coaches.

Finally, former Cornell assistant Jordan Stevens called to offer Goldstein a spot Nov. 5, 2020. He paced around his backyard while talking to Stevens and committed before he hung up. “He didn’t even talk to us,” Tina Goldstein said. “He just went ahead and said, ‘Yes.’”

When Goldstein first arrived on Cornell’s campus, it wasn’t a single highlight play or jaw-dropping moment that made teammates like CJ Kirst realize Ryan Goldstein would be special — it was subtle.

“You could just tell how skilled he was,” Kirst said. “He sees the field so much differently than anyone I’ve ever played with.”

Kirst would go on to win the Tewaaraton last year, with Goldstein helping to set him up numerous times. The third member of the attack unit, Michael Long, was an All-American whose father, Steve, played at Cornell with Tim Goldstein. Their chemistry went deeper, as Kirst and Long had played in high school together in New Jersey at Delbarton.

By the time Cornell entered its championship season, Goldstein had become a vital piece to arguably the best attack unit in college lacrosse.

Goldstein added a unique dimension to the Big Red offense. He was a dsitributor, a creator who made teammates better simply by being on the field. “He’s always trying to facilitate and set other people up,” Kirst said. “He was seeing windows that I didn’t even think were open.”

The trio trusted each other instinctively; whoever had the ball could make the play. There was no hesitation, no ego.

Just rhythm.

When the breakthrough finally came, it felt inevitable.

The Goldsteins had always gone to championship weekend as a family tradition, but this time was different.

“I just remember driving there being like, ‘Oh my gosh, Ryan’s playing in the national championship,’” Tina Goldstein said. “It was very surreal, and I just had a feeling they were going to win it … I felt like they were going to give everything to win that game.”

Goldstein scored four goals in the title game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts,, helping secure Cornell’s first national championship since 1977. After celebrating with his teammates, he embraced his mother in the stands, speechless.

“That 30 minutes after feels like a fever dream,” he said. “It still doesn’t even feel real now. It will probably hit me harder in a couple years when I realize how special that moment was.”

For the Goldsteins, the celebration wasn’t just about a trophy. It was about Cornell’s history, family and community.

“It felt like we did it for everyone,” his father said later. “It wasn’t like it was an individual thing for Ryan.”

For many players, winning one championship would be enough. For Ryan Goldstein, it has only seemed to sharpen his hunger.

“It was just great to see all the parents up there, all my past teammates that came to support me,” he said. “And then when we got off the bus for the tailgate it was just like a sea of red. It was pretty special to see everyone. See all my dad’s friends. Hopefully I can get back to that day this year.”

Goldstein became the latest in a long line of elite Cornell attackmen not by trying to replicate the past, but by adding his own chapter to it.

And he didn’t just win a championship; he brought a lifelong dream to Ithaca.