How CJ Kirst Moved the PLL Goals Mark From 30 to 34

CJ Kirst set the PLL regular-season goals record with 34 goals for the Philadelphia Waterdogs in 2026. His 31st goal moved him past Marcus Holman’s previous mark of 30; the next three goals extended Kirst’s completed regular-season total to 34. That is why record accounts use both figures: 31 was the breaking point, while 34 became the final mark, as documented in USA Lacrosse’s Week 12 recap.

The record at a glance

Record holder: CJ Kirst Team: Philadelphia Waterdogs Competition: 2026 PLL regular season Games played: 10 Goals: 34 Assists: 5 Points: 39 Previous record: Marcus Holman, 30 goals in 2023 Record-breaking goal: Kirst’s 31st

The proper entry is 34 goals in 10 games during the 2026 PLL regular season. The word “regular-season” matters: this is not an all-professional-lacrosse, all-field-lacrosse or all-codes record, and the total should not be expanded by adding postseason production.

It is equally important not to report Kirst’s record as a 31-goal season. Thirty-one identifies the first total above Holman’s former mark. Kirst continued scoring after the milestone and closed the regular season with 34.

Across those 10 appearances, Kirst averaged 3.4 goals and 3.9 points per game. Those rates follow directly from his 34 goals and 39 points; they describe the pace of his regular-season production without changing the underlying record category.

The 30-to-31-to-34 record progression

The progression has three distinct stages. USA Lacrosse reports that Holman held the previous mark at 30, Kirst broke it with goal No. 31 and then finished the regular-season weekend at 34 goals in a single season. (USA Lacrosse)

Stage	Player and season	Goals	Meaning
Previous record	Marcus Holman, 2023	30	PLL regular-season mark before Kirst passed it
Record broken	CJ Kirst, 2026	31	First total above Holman’s mark
Completed record	CJ Kirst, 2026	34	Kirst’s final regular-season total

Kirst entered Philadelphia’s last regular-season weekend needing one goal to move ahead of Holman. He reached 31 on August 15, 2026, during the Waterdogs’ 18-10 victory over the New York Atlas. Kirst’s 31st goal was his first goal of the game Kirst Sets PLL Single-Season Goal Record, Philly Routs Atlas to Clinch East No. 1 Seed - Yahoo Sports.

The milestone should therefore be recorded by separating the act of breaking the record from the final total. A player does not stop holding a season record at the exact moment he passes the previous leader; any additional goals in the same statistical period extend the new mark. For Kirst, 31 established a new record, but it did not complete the ledger.

That distinction also prevents a common ambiguity in record coverage. A game report published when the record falls may emphasize the decisive goal, while a season recap lists the total after all scheduled regular-season games have been completed. Both numbers can be accurate when they answer different questions.

The available accounts securely establish that Kirst’s 31st goal was the milestone during the August 15 game. A more elaborate reconstruction of its precise place among every goal scored over the full weekend is unnecessary to state the record correctly.

What the 34-goal figure includes

The 34-goal figure covers the 2026 PLL regular season. The league’s statistics interface separates its Regular, Post and Championship Series views rather than presenting them as one undifferentiated total.

That structure determines how the record should be cited. Kirst’s later playoff production belongs to the postseason ledger and should not be added to 34 when stating this regular-season mark. The calendar year may be the same, but the competition phase is different.

The same principle applies to rate statistics. Kirst’s regular-season scoring average is:

34 goals ÷ 10 games = 3.4 goals per game

His points average is:

39 points ÷ 10 games = 3.9 points per game

Both calculations use only the games and production listed in the Regular view. Mixing playoff appearances into the denominator or adding postseason goals to the numerator would produce a different statistic and would no longer describe the record established here.

For this entry, “PLL regular-season goals record” is the clearest label because it identifies both the league and the statistical phase. The available league table supports that scope by placing Regular, Post and Championship Series statistics in separate categories. This wording does not attempt to impose a universal definition on every unqualified use of “single-season record”; it states precisely which ledger contains Kirst’s 34.

Kirst’s complete regular-season scoring line

The record formed part of a 39-point regular season. In its 2026 Regular view, the PLL player table lists the following line for Kirst:

Statistic	Total
Games	10
Total goals	34
Assists	5
Overall points	39
Shots	84
Shooting percentage	40.5%
Shots on goal	60

All 34 goals were one-point goals, and Kirst recorded no two-point goals. His scoring-points total from goals was therefore also 34.

The points arithmetic is:

34 scoring points from goals + 5 assists = 39 overall points

That distinction is significant in PLL statistics because a two-point goal can cause scoring points to exceed total goals. Kirst’s line requires no such adjustment: each of his successful shots added one goal and one scoring point.

His 84 shots and 34 goals produce the listed 40.5% shooting percentage after rounding. Sixty of those shots were on goal. These figures provide context for the record without changing its basic unit: the historical mark is based on total goals, not shooting percentage, total shots or overall points.

The seventh hat trick recorded in the game against New York also illustrates that the record was built through repeated multi-goal performances rather than one isolated scoring outburst. Even so, the completed season totals remain the authoritative summary: 34 goals, five assists and 39 points in 10 regular-season games.

Do not confuse the PLL record with Kirst’s NCAA mark

Kirst’s professional record is separate from his college scoring total at Cornell. In 2025, he scored 82 goals and tied, rather than broke, the NCAA men’s single-season record. Six of those goals came in Cornell’s national championship victory, as stated by the NCAA’s account of the record-tying performance.

Competition	Year	Total	Record status
PLL regular season	2026	34 goals	Record
NCAA men’s lacrosse	2025	82 goals	Record tie

The two totals should not be treated as competing versions of the same record. They come from different levels of lacrosse, with different schedules, rules and statistical environments. The PLL figure belongs to a short professional regular season; the NCAA figure belongs to Cornell’s college season.

Preserving those boundaries also protects the status of each achievement. Kirst holds the cited PLL regular-season mark outright at 34, while his 82-goal NCAA season shares the college record. Calling the NCAA performance a broken record would overstate the source, just as combining playoff goals with the PLL regular-season total would alter the professional entry.

The final PLL record is therefore 34 goals in 10 games during the 2026 regular season. Kirst passed Holman’s 30-goal mark when he reached 31, then extended the record to 34. In the properly labeled ledger, 31 is the milestone goal and 34 is the completed record; postseason and NCAA totals remain separate.