Princeton wins first NCAA lacrosse championship in 25 years after dominating Notre Dame

Princeton has won its first NCAA Lacrosse national championship since 2001. The Tigers dominated Notre Dame, winning the game 16-9.

Princeton last won the title under legendary coach Bill Tierney in 2001, when they defeated Syracuse in overtime. The next year, they would fall to Syracuse in the finals, but have not been back since. Princeton was the team of the 90’s, winning in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, and in 2001, all under Tierney. The program then hit a lull, not making the NCAA tournament from 2012 through 2021, returning in 2022. This year, they have made a run for a second straight title for the Ivy League.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame was looking for their third title in four years under Kevin Corrigan, who has been with the program since 1989. They took the title in 2023 and 2024, before losing in the quarterfinals in 2025. The team had lost just twice all year, both times to Virginia.

Notre Dame got off to a hot start, with goals from Will Maheras, Josh Yago, and Matt Jeffery, and took a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the game.  It looked like Notre Dame was well on the way to a title, considering the Irish were fourth in the nation in opponent goals per game, allowing just 8.47 goals per game.

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon took a timeout after the third goal and calmed his team down. It worked. Chad Palumbo scored before assisting Porter Malkiel on a goal to make it 3-2. Palumbo then scored again to tie the game heading to the second quarter.

The Tigers took over from there. They scored eight goals, including two more from Palumbo, taking his total to four on the day. Meanwhile, the defense, which was ranked 13th in the nation heading into the game, shut down Notre Dame, which did not score.

Notre Dame attempted to come back, with Will Angrick scoring two goals in the first five minutes of the third quarter, to make it a six-goal game. After a Princeton goal, Dylan Faison, one of Notre Dame Football’s two-sport athletes, found the back of the net, and Luke Miller made it a five-goal game. That was as close as it would get, and Princeton continued to dominate the fourth quarter, winning the game and the National Championship.

Princeton now has seven NCAA National Championships, tied for the third most all-time behind Virginia. Syracuse has the most titles at ten, followed by Johns Hopkins with nine.

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