Memorial Day Barbecue: Colin Burns Powers Princeton to Title Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Colin Burns wanted to play on Memorial Day since he was young. The Princeton attackman had an extra, constant reminder of his desired destination for the last year.

Ever since the NCAA announced this year’s championship weekend would be played at Virginia, he’s had Scott Stadium as the screen saver on his phone.

For the Tigers’ relentless behind-the-scenes organizer and their offense’s ultimate do-everything chameleon, no detail is too small.

“I knew that my role was to make sure the team was put in the best position because we’re so talented, but it’s not just talent that can win these games,” Burns said. “You need great leadership. You need complete buy-in from everybody. Just doing some of those little things to make sure the guys are organized can make a big difference.”

Burns’ efforts have helped deliver Princeton its first appearance in an NCAA final since 2002. He scored four goals in Saturday’s 14-7 rout of Duke to send the top-seeded Tigers (16-2) into a Monday afternoon meeting with second-seeded Notre Dame (13-2).

The junior is a three-year lineup mainstay, a cog in an attack that features a Tewaaraton finalist (attackman Nate Kabiri) and two other All-American picks (midfielder-turned-attackman Chad Palumbo and midfielder Tucker Wade).

But ask around the Tigers about who is easy to play alongside, who makes things run better, who Palumbo describes as “the grease for the offense,” and Burns comes up repeatedly. And off the field, Burns is the one pinging Palumbo and Cooper Kistler in the captains’ group text at odd hours with ideas for a team meeting or meal.

“It oozes out of him, his love for Princeton, his love for his teammates, his love for execution, his love for the standard,” coach Matt Madalon said. “He’s awesome.”

Much as Burns imagined himself playing on the last day of a college season, he didn’t think it would be at Princeton. It wasn’t so much that at the time the Tigers weren’t the May regulars they were during the Bill Tierney-era glory days, though Princeton had made consecutive NCAA tournament trips before he arrived on campus.

Instead, his recruiting process started with a succinct philosophy: ACC or bust.

“Probably a little bit of it was ego and the ACC schools were all playing on big weekends,” Burns said. “But I visited Princeton, I loved the locker room and loved the guys in the locker room. Something just felt special about that and my dad told me to trust my gut in the recruiting process. So I trusted my gut and committed here.”

He was high school teammates with Kabiri, and their built-in cohesion made them a logical pairing on attack along with veteran Coulter Mackesy the last two seasons. Mackesy was always going to draw attention, giving both Kabiri and Burns the opportunity to develop as the Tigers made a first-round appearance in 2024 and then reached the quarterfinals last season.

Kabiri has emerged as the magnet for attention of opposing defenses, while Burns’ game has evolved into one of nuance. Whether it’s making sure everyone on offense knows the plan, moving off ball or setting picks, Burns is always doing something.

It’s the latter skill that was obvious throughout Saturday’s victory. Duke opted to double-pole the Princeton midfield, leaving a short stick defending Burns, which led to opportunities to force Duke into switches.

It’s a facet Burns specifically tried to fortify last summer, when he went to Ontario to play box lacrosse for the Mimico Mountaineers. Off-ball play, setting picks and handling passes in tight spaces are hallmarks of the box game, and Burns came back to Princeton improved in all of those areas.

“He’s the glue,” Palumbo said. “If you were to watch our offense from a coach’s perspective, one of the first things you’d notice is how hard he moves off ball, particularly when he gets short sticked. He’s one of those guys that’s willing to do everything. He kind of has his hands in a lot of different cookie jars, and he does a really good job at it. Frankly, he probably puts as much effort into our offense physically and as much time mentally as anyone.”

What might be most fascinating from the outside is how Burns’ high-effort approach might obscure the talent he brings to bear. Granted, that might seem silly given how coveted he was out of Georgetown Prep, but it’s not as if Duke was the first team to defend him with a short stick.

Initially, Burns, nicknamed Barbecue, acknowledges he reacted as a lot of attackmen would. He felt he needed to dodge, to beat his man, to win his matchup.

Now? He is almost overjoyed. Madalon said those matchups transform Burns into a primary piece of the offense, and Burns relishes the opportunity to get involved in some actions he might not otherwise be a part of.

It’s that sort of attitude that fosters appreciation in teammates, who have had plenty to get excited about. Burns has at least a hat trick in three of Princeton’s last four games.

“Him getting four goals in the national semifinal is just an awesome thing and a feel-good moment for everyone,” Kabiri said.

Madalon said the best way to describe Burns is “extremely opportunistic,” and the last of his goals Saturday were a fine illustration. He snagged a loose ball behind the goal, then swooped around the cage to beat goalie Buck Cunningham as he attempted to recover.

Yet much of the time, it requires an extra look just to see the second- and third-order consequences and fully appreciate Burns’ impact. He hasn’t been swamped with honors during his career; chalk some of that up to the subtlety in his game, and a fair bit to the presence of statistically prodigious teammates elsewhere on the offense.

“A lot of what Colin is world-class at isn’t necessarily something that will show up on a stat sheet,” Palumbo said. “He hasn’t really gotten a lot of All-Ivy or All-America nods, which is fine. The media has a different view on what makes a good player a good player. We know in our room this team would look a whole lot different without him.”

So, too, might Princeton’s season, which is 60 minutes away from concluding with the program’s first national title in a quarter-century. It’s about the only thing the Tigers haven’t done under Madalon. A paragon of consistency, Princeton’s five consecutive tournament trips is the nation’s second longest streak behind Georgetown (eight).

The Tigers have a chance to add a title breakthrough to that steadiness Monday, with Burns right where he dreamed of being years ago — and planned to be when the NCAA announced the championship weekend’s return to its on-campus roots a year ago.

“I get chills just thinking about,” Burns said. “It would be everything. It’s all we’ve ever wanted and we know it’s going to take extraordinary effort and extraordinary execution for it tomorrow, but I know this group is prepared and we’re excited to go take it.”