FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The last time Cornell won a national championship in men’s lacrosse was 16 years before its current coach, Connor Buczek, was born. Even the 31-year-old knows that for the program to continue considering itself a relevant power and not just a historic one in a sport it helped popularize last century, that drought since 1977 needs to end.

“Our fan base is so loyal and cares so much about this program,” Buczek said. “It’s never been about wins or losses, but certainly that is a year that rings in everybody’s head. Every year when Memorial Day comes around it’s something that everybody is reminded of, that it’s been almost 50 years.”

Monday is yet another opportunity to do something about it. Top-seeded Cornell (17-1) will face No. 2 Maryland (14-3) for the trophy at Gillette Stadium at 1 p.m. 

“Bringing one home would mean everything,” said Cornell junior faceoff specialist Jack Cascadden, who starred at Garden City. “Honoring the tradition of this program, honoring the alumni, it means the world to the people that are in this program and what we all the Long Red Line . . . I think we have a strong case for bringing one back to Ithaca.”

Cornell has lost its last five championship game appearances, some in heartbreaking fashion. It was about 30 seconds away from victory before losing to Syracuse in overtime in 2009 and lost to Maryland, 9-7, three years ago. Cornell lost the 1987 final by one goal to Johns Hopkins when Tim Goldstein from Ward Melville was a star attackman for the Big Red; his son Ryan is a sophomore attacker for this year’s team.

Maryland, meanwhile, has won two titles since 2017 and will play in its eighth championship game since John Tillman took over the program in 2008. There are slews of players on the current team who already have a ring from the 2022 undefeated team.

Still, there are some Terps for whom this is a brand new experience. Midfielder Matthew Keegan (Sachem North) played three seasons at Binghamton without ever making the NCAA Tournament before transferring to Maryland for this, his senior season. He said it was a “no-brainer” to commit to Maryland after visiting the campus and meeting Tillman and the other players.

“You meet these guys and you understand why the place is the way it is,” he said.

After Maryland beat Syracuse in the semifinal, he understood even more.

“This is exactly where you want to be,” he said of advancing to the final. “This is exactly why I came here.”

The NCAA announced next year’s men’s lacrosse championships for Divisions I, II and III will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Gillette Stadium was originally scheduled to host the event but backed out due to a scheduling conflict when it was awarded a FIFA World Cup game. It will be the first time the championships are held at an on-campus facility since 2002 when Rutgers hosted and the first time it will be south of Baltimore since Virginia last hosted in 1982 . . . The 2026 women’s lacrosse championships will be played at Northwestern.