Under the weight of back-to-back national titles, Irish backs finally broke — sinking in the mud of Scott Stadium, 16-9, to senior Chad Palumbo and the Princeton Tigers.
A hopeful 3-0 start for the No. 2-seeded Notre Dame lacrosse team became a laugh after No. 1 Princeton took off for 11 unanswered, including an 8-0 second quarter.
A valiant second half put some air back in Irish lungs, but not enough to power past a rugged Tigers offense. Princeton took a gatling gun to senior goalie Thomas Ricciardelli, firing more shots (53) than any other opponent this season.
The Irish entered on a playoff tear, knocking off Jacksonville 18-5 at home, Johns Hopkins 15-9 in Hempstead, New York and Syracuse 15-7 in Scott Stadium on Saturday while on their way to their third national championship tilt in four seasons.
Princeton scored at least 14 in each of its NCAA Tournament games, its closest contest coming 14-10 against Penn State in the quarterfinals, which was bookended with crushing defeats of Marist and Duke. After claiming six national championships between 1992 and 2001, the Tigers‘ seventh NCAA-era title came a quarter century after its last.
The Tigers won the opening faceoff, but it was Irish senior attacker Will Maheras who opened the scoring, sinking one from the corner after a high pass from graduate midfield Will Angrick. Graduate attacker Josh Yago supplied the second goal three minutes later, his 33rd of the season, and sophomore midfielder Matt Jeffery added a third after just five minutes of play.
Princeton called a timeout and switched to zone defense, a change that brought multiple drawn-out and pass-heavy schemes to the door of the Notre Dame goal for the rest of the afternoon.
The Tigers took two unsuccessful shots after returning to play in two minutes of non-stop attack. They did not miss their third though, with Palumbo zinging one clean over Ricciardelli’s helmet. Palumbo, who tallied four scores on the day and one assist, also made it three apiece just a few minutes later.
Ricciardelli collected five saves to close out the quarter, but could not prevent poor Irish passing and ball control that continued to bring enemies to his den.
A full-on dive at the goal by Colin Burns, the second-most prolific scorer for either side, gave the Tigers their first lead of the day early in quarter two.
A Palumbo hat trick and a sprint score by Andrew McMeekin off the ensuing faceoff made it 6-3. The 6-0 run was a bad omen for an Irish defense, which was to be worn down to its nubs.
Ricciardelli had 12 saves by the half, double that of opposing goalie Ryan Croddick, but it was for naught — the Irish allowed four scores in the final three minutes and change. Although he conceded 11 first half goals, Ricciardelli was under constant pressure and did well to keep the scoreline manageable entering the intermission.
A muggy day and a damp field caused both sides to slip-and-slide, creating ground balls galore. The Irish faltered on this line, particularly in the first half, where they recovered just 11 of 40 opportunities. This, along with a deficiency at the faceoff dot, allowed Princeton to command possession for much of the first half.
Angrick brought some joy back to the Irish crowd and the scoreboard with two goals out of the gate in the third quarter, snapping a nearly half-hour long scoring drought. A few wide shots by the Tigers afforded some time to play catch-up, and freshman midfielder Dylan Faison and sophomore attacker Luke Miller seized the opportunity to cut the deficit to five scores.
Yago — who scored or assisted on at least seven goals in each of the past two playoff games — sank his second and final of the day to make it 13-8 at the start of the fourth. That’s as close as the Irish would get to a comeback, however, as the Princeton defense stood tall throughout the final frame.
The Tigers regained their composure near the end, buckling down against an Irish offense playing with increased angst. Four penalties were assessed to Notre Dame throughout the day, including a double-team laying out of Princeton’s Finn Fox in the closing minutes.
A 30-second ground ball brawl near the Princeton goal summed up the day. Notre Dame picked up and dropped the ball time and again, never finding a bearing in the trenches. Then, a chuck down field made for a foot-race the Irish couldn’t keep up with.
The ensuing score by Princeton’s Cooper Mueller, with seven minutes remaining in the fourth, effectively extinguished the embers of the imagined Notre Dame dynasty.
The loss dropped Notre Dame to just 2-4 in national championship games, and prevented the Irish from becoming the first program to capture three titles in four years since Princeton claimed three straight in the late ’90s. All told, the Irish finished the impressive 2026 season 13-3.
