Princeton Dispatches Marist 17-8 in NCAA Second Round

For at least a half, if a few things went its way, Marist looked like it could be game for an upset of top-seeded Princeton in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

Then the third quarter happened.

What was a four-goal halftime advantage for Princeton quickly ballooned to a 12-goal advantage by the end of the third. An eight-goal period was all Princeton needed to coast to a 17-8 win over the Red Foxes, booking a date with eighth-seeded Penn State in the quarterfinals.

Penn State was one of two teams to beat the Tigers this year — 13-7 on Feb. 14.

Chad Palumbo put together six goals and one assist, while Nate Kabiri led all players with eight points (three goals, five assists). Colin Burns also had a hat trick. Marist, which beat Stony Brook in a play-in game last week, got two goals apiece from Peter Murray, Drew Anderson and Jayce Konowitz.

Princeton's third-quarter onslaught started on the first possession. Andrew McMeekin won the first faceoff of the second half, and Palumbo finished a John Dunphey feed just 37 seconds in. Just over a minute later, Kabiri found Burns to make it 10-4.

It was all quiet for six minutes — then Princeton deposited six more goals, including an end-of-quarter buzzer-beater by Quinn Krammer.

Princeton was a quarterfinalist a year ago but fell to Syracuse at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. The Tigers haven't advanced to championship weekend since 2022.