Mike Preston: Princeton men's lacrosse looks unstoppable in national title win

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The omen for Princeton came early. Very early.

Before the game began, former Princeton coach Bill Tierney was up in the press box, attending the game because the Tigers were going to celebrate their last title appearance in 2001, when Tierney was the coach.

But Tierney also won five other titles in the 1990s, and Princeton was back on the championship forum Monday as the Tigers defeated Notre Dame, 16-9, in the 2026 Division I title game at Scott Stadium.

Princeton (17-2) was the most balanced team in lacrosse against Notre Dame, the best defensive team in the country. The Tigers won out in their usual, methodical style of pinpoint passes from around the crease and behind the goal.

No team had done this to Notre Dame.

"I am extremely proud of this team," Princeton coach Matt Madalon said. "Every day we walk into a room with six national championship trophies. We call them forever trophies, but now we get to see it every day."

"You saw all those fans out there," Princeton goalie Ryan Croddick said. "We wanted to bring back a trophy to those long lines of fans who have supported us."

The Fighting Irish had the best long-pole defenseman in the college game in Shawn Lyght and the best long-stick midfielder in Will Donovan, but Notre Dame had no answer for senior attackman Chad Palumbo, who finished with four goals and one assist. The Fighting Irish tried to put Lyght on junior attackman Nate Kabiri, but Kabiri was just as content to become more of an assist player than a goal scorer. Kabiri finished with one goal and three assists. Junior attackman Colin Burns also had three goals for Princeton.

But there were other offensive heroes for Princeton, but the game was virtually over once Croddick lofted a midfield-length pass to short-stick midfielder Cooper Mueller, who scored with 7 minutes and 12 seconds left in the game to put Princeton ahead, 15-8.

It was like Tierney was in control again, but it was Madalon, who has a 92-43 record in his 10th season at Princeton. With about two minutes left in the game, the Tigers were getting chants from their fans. About a minute later, Croddick began hugging defensemen Hunter Spiess and Finn Fox.

But it just wasn't Princeton's offense that caused Notre Dame problems. After Notre Dame jumped to a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter, the Tigers went to a zone defense, which stifled the Fighting Irish.

"We prepared to go to the zone," said Croodick, who finished with 13 saves. "They are a super athletic team that moves the ball a lot, but it definitely slowed them down.

And what about Princeton's offense?

"It was a quick turnaround," Burns said. "We were playing two games in three days, so we just wanted to focus on us. We wanted to focus on our spacing, ground balls and winning one-on-one matchups."

Princeton dominated in almost every phase of the game. The Tigers outshot Notre Dame 53-41. They had an advantage of 46-30 in ground balls and Croddick played well, even though Notre Dame goalie Thomas Ricciardelli was better with 20 saves.

It was Notre Dame's third trip to the Final Four in the last four years, with the Fighting Irish having won titles in 2023 and 2024.

"It just wasn't our day," Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. "There were periods where we were outworked, outplayed and large periods of the game where we were outcoached."

What about that Princeton zone defense?

"There were times when we just couldn't finish our shots to get them out of it," Corrigan said. "We did eventually, but if I had the answer to all of the problems, I wouldn't be here discussing them with you."

True.

But that still didn't stop Notre Dame from jumping out to a 3-0 lead, and it appeared this game might be a blowout, but that rarely happens in lacrosse, especially with a dominant faceoff specialist. Princeton won 16 of 30.

Midfielder Will Maheras scored on goal from just outside the crease to give the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead with 13:02 remaining in the first quarter, and attackman Josh Yago scored about 90 seconds later, followed by a goal from midfielder Matt Jeffery, and then it was all Princeton for the remainder of the first half.

The Tigers took Notre Dame apart with some great shooting in the second quarter, as Palumbo had four first-half goals. Porter Malkiel scored on an assist from Palumbo about a minute later, and Palumbo scored again to tie the game at 3-3 with 3:34 left in the first period.

It just got worse for Notre Dame.

Who scored for Princeton? A better question is who didn't? Burns scored two minutes into the second quarter, followed by goals from faceoff specialist Andrew McMeekin and later from Palumbo a few minutes later. Then it was all Princeton as Palumbo finished the scoring with 21.7 seconds left in the half as Princeton went ahead, 11-3, after two quarters.

Notre Dame midfielder Will Angrick had two goals, and so did Yago to lead the Irish, but this game was all about Princeton.

"If we see the ball, we're pretty much unstoppable," Palumbo said.

They were.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.