Princeton Ends 25-Year Drought, Storms Past Notre Dame for NCAA Title

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Every morning when Matt Madalon walks into Princeton’s lacrosse offices, six national championship trophies amassed in a span of a decade are in full view. Maybe the Tigers hadn’t won a championship in a while, but they had won them.

And now they have again.

Chad Palumbo had four goals and an assist, Colin Burns collected his second hat trick in three days and Ryan Croddick made 13 saves to secure tournament most outstanding player honors as top-seeded Princeton shrugged off an early hole to blitz second-seeded Notre Dame 16-9 before 24,061 in Monday’s national title game at Scott Stadium

“We’ve always termed it forever teams, those teams that win championships stay together forever, 25-year reunions and so on,” Madalon said. “That’s what these guys get to do now.”

It happened after an 11-goal run to end the first half, a breathtaking display of slick play and dominance off the ground that effectively sealed the school’s seventh title well before the end.

Princeton (17-2) secured its first title since 2001 about an hour after that past champion congregated on the field to be feted for the 25th anniversary of reaching the sport’s pinnacle. The quarter-century gap between titles is tied with North Carolina (1991-2016) for the fourth longest in tournament history, behind Cornell (1977-2025), Maryland (1975-2017) and Virginia (1972-97).

The Irish’s Thomas Ricciardelli made 19 saves, the most for any player in an NCAA final since Johns Hopkins’ Michael Gvozden had 20 in a 2008 loss to Syracuse. Will Angrick and Josh Yago both had two goals and an assist for Notre Dame (13-3), which was denied a third national title in four years.

Princeton held a stout 46-30 ground ball advantage, numbers that became even more lopsided when confined to the first half (29-11) and the opening quarter (18-3).

“It just was not our day,” Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. “We felt like there were periods of the game where we got outworked. We felt there were periods of the game where we just got outplayed. And I know there were large periods of the game where we were outcoached. This was a very disappointing result for a team that found a way week after week all year long to put themselves in a great position to win and did what needed to be done, and we just didn't have that today.”

Notre Dame bolted to a 3-0 lead, and it seemed the ultra-consistent Irish would be the team to create separation. But Princeton called timeout, switched to a zone defense and promptly took over.

The Tigers tied it by the end of the first quarter, with Palumbo scoring twice and adding an assist in the stretch. Burns then wove his way from wing to near the crease to beat Ricciardelli to give Princeton the lead for good, and Andrew McMeekin got a clean faceoff win and a clear look to make it 5-3 just four seconds later.

The Irish did do a decent job defending a pair of two-minute penalties after they were flagged for non-releaseable cross-checks, but Palumbo did manage a man-down goal. But while Princeton was clearly playing better, it didn’t take complete control until it dropped four goals in the final 3:09 of the first half to bump the lead to 11-3.

It was the second-largest halftime lead in title game history, behind only the 1977 final also held at Scott Stadium. Cornell led Johns Hopkins 10-1 at the break that year on the way to a 16-8 rout.

Princeton credited its basic precepts — good spacing, ball movement, pick setting, trusting each other and winning matchups — for its scoring avalanche.

“It was a quick turnaround with two games in three days and [offensive coordinator Jim] Mitchell was harping yesterday, ‘I’m not putting in anything new, but just playing on our principles that we’ve counted on all year,’” Burns said. “He just talked about how it’s all about us.”

Notre Dame couldn’t get closer than five in the second half, and by the time short stick Cooper Mueller corralled a one-bounce outlet pass from Croddick and scampered nearly 40 yards before delivering a dart to bump the lead to 15-8, the celebration had all but started in the raucous Princeton cheering section.

“We call it the long orange line,” Palumbo said. “You saw it. They were the rowdiest fans this weekend. They do everything for us. They do a ton on and off the field. Through that 25-year drought, our alums were as hungry as we were and they’re always willing to help and support us in any way possible.”

The senior midfielder-turned-attackman had a gift waiting for those alums, too. After midfielder Tucker Wade came over to the far corner for a brief hug as the final seconds trickled away, Palumbo heaved the ball into a sea of orange before joining his teammates at the other end of the field to celebrate their climb back to the top.

“It was pretty surreal,” Palumbo said. “That’s a moment you dream about your whole life. When we realized when we were going to win it, it was just unbelievable. I don’t think there’s words to describe that moment.”

It’s been 10 years since Madalon took over for the final five games of the 2016 season, and the Tigers have enjoyed an upward-if-not-exponential trajectory since. They posted winning seasons in 2017 and 2018, and one of the great what-ifs of the COVID era is whether this moment might have come sooner had the 2020 season been played to completion with the dazzling Michael Sowers headlining the attack.

Princeton was 5-0 when the pandemic halted the season, and it didn’t play in 2021 in accordance with Ivy League regulations. But in 2022, the Tigers earned their first postseason victory since 2009 and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2004, a hint of what was to come.

Ivy rules would send a throng of Princeton stars — many of whom showed up this weekend for the first on-campus final four since 2002 — elsewhere to use their bonus year of eligibility. Madalon still oversaw Ivy League tournament title teams in 2023 and 2024, and the Tigers got back to the quarterfinals last spring. There wasn’t a national title, but Princeton’s hallmark had become consistent relevance.

Back in the fall, Madalon sensed a motivated, high-urgency group. And after getting drilled 13-7 in their opener against Penn State, the Tigers quickly regrouped on defense while honing an offense that took pride in an identity predicated on being “off-ball outlaws.”

And it worked, well enough that that the trophy short stick midfielder Quinn Krammer hoisted as he raced toward the stands after the final horn might be just the first to join the six Princeton claimed more than a generation ago.

“For the program, we always recruited these guys with the hopes and dreams that if you put it all together, you love each other, you train the right way, you live your life the right way and balanced, that you’d have an opportunity at this,” Madalon said. “That obviously makes me the most proud. It’s a place where we’re going to continue to try to do it.”