READY TO GO: Princeton University men’s lacrosse star Chad Palumbo heads upfield in a game last spring. Senior Palumbo, who was recently named as the USA Lacrosse preseason Division I Midfielder of the Year, is primed for a big final campaign. The Tigers, currently ranked No. 3 nationally by Inside Lacrosse, open their 2026 campaign by hosting No. 14 Penn State on February 14. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Rising to No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse national poll last spring fueled by a high-powered attack and a stingy defense, the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team saw its 2025 campaign end in disappointment as it fell 19-18 to Syracuse in the NCAA quarters.
Looking forward to the upcoming season, Princeton head coach Matt Madalon believes that defeat will make his 2026 squad hungry for more.
“I think for us, the lessons learned is that you have to play more consistent lacrosse, you have got to be cleaner and capitalize on our opportunities,” said Madalon, who guided the Tigers to a 13-4 record last spring. “It was a very motivating experience. That was an awesome Syracuse team. Now being nine months removed from it, I can say it was a wonderful lacrosse game. As far as the coaching, we wanted to put a much better product out there as far as execution on a big stage like that. Our guys hope to get the opportunity to play in a quarterfinal game.”
With Princeton coming into the spring highly touted as it is currently ranked No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse poll and its players have received a number of preseason accolades, Madalon welcomes the attention.
“It is an ode to the program and the hard work in the last year,” said Madalon, whose team hosts No. 14 Penn State on February 14 in its season opener. “All of our guys understand that it is great recognition. Maybe there is a little pressure to defend it but I think that is awesome. That is a privilege.”
The Princeton attack has a chance to be awesome, led by the trio of junior Nate Kabiri (32 goals and 29 assists in 2025), junior co-captain Colin Burns (29 goals, 17 assists), and sophomore Peter Buonanno (18 goals, 11 assists) who is moving over from midfield as it looks to make up for the void left by Coulter Mackesy, who graduated as the program’s all-time goal scorer with 167.
“Coulter was such a true goal scorer, there is a lot of pressure on that unit to step up,” said Madalon. “As a staff we feel like those guys are working really hard, not only on the field but off the field with chemistry stuff, IQ and playbook stuff. Coach [Jim] Mitchell has been doing a great job with that crew.”
Others in the mix in attack will be sophomore Porter Malkiel (1 goal), freshman Will Fuller, senior Jackson Kane and junior Brody Upton (1 goal, 1 assay).
The Tiger offensive midfield boasts an abundance of firepower in senior co-captain Chad Palumbo (28 goals, 19 assists), junior Tucker Wade (27 goals, 8 assists), and John Dunphey (6 goals, 6 assists).
“As a staff you hope the experience coming into this year will allow us to start ahead and almost pick up where we left off,” said Madalon. “I think the most impressive part of that midfield crew is the experience and the IQ and the relationship they have with coach Mitchell and the connectivity there. Palumbo, Wade, and Dunphey are three returning veterans with a lot of playing time under their belts. Palumbo and Wade are true mainstays in the program, just really tough, good, high IQ players for us. We will lean a lot on those guys.”
In addition to that trio, junior Carson Krammer (8 goals, 4 assists), junior Jacob Todd (2 assists), sophomore Jacob Vana (1 goal, 1 assist), freshman Parker Reynolds, sophomore Isaac Cruz, sophomore Beau Hockanson, and Malkiel should see time in the midfield.
At the face-off X, the Tigers feature plenty of depth in senior Andrew McMeekin (190-of-371 face-offs in 2025), senior Jim Williams (0-for-1), and a pair of freshmen, Russ Fitzgerald and Cooper Revis.
“Andrew is doing a really good job, we were going to lean a lot on him,” said Madalon. “We have two young guys in Fitzgerald and Revis, they will push and back up and provide depth. We have a senior Williams who has developed every single year. It is always a unit approach there in terms of being able to develop and give scout looks and really grind and see whose move works best.”
Juniors Cooper Mueller (6 goals, 1 assist, 36 ground balls), Jackson Green (4 goals, 16 ground balls), and Quinn Krammer (2 assists, 17 ground balls) will lead the way in the short stick defensive midfield.
“Cooper stepped up, we put him in a lot of high pressure situations last year,” said Madalon, noting that junior Owen Fischer, senior Ian Mize, senior David Smythe, freshman Caden Southworth, and junior Mark Marino should get action on that unit. “Jackson did a great job and Quinn did a great job.”
At close defense, while the Tigers suffered two big losses with the graduation of Colin Mulshine and Michael Bath, Madalon likes what he is seeing from his defenders. The quartet of junior Hunter Spiess, sophomore Finn Fox, senior co-captain Cooper Kistler, and senior Zach Friedman have been stepping up.
“Spiess who plays a lot towards the end and Fox logged about five games, said Madalon, adding that sophomores Matt Kephart and Kevin Morrow have made progress. “We are really anchored by seniors Kistler and Friedman. They are pretty versatile defensemen. They have all played a little close and played a little long stick midfield. We are going to continue to move those guys around for the best matchups. We are going to look for the best unit and chemistry.”
The long stick midfield group includes junior Jack Stahl, senior Nick Crowley, freshman Matt Giannettti, freshman Caden Frank, and Friedman.
“Stahl and Friedman might operate up there early,” said Madalon. “Depending on where the other team’s superstars are, we will move our defensemen around.”
Senior Ryan Croddick emerged as a star at goalie last season in his first year as starter and Madalon is expecting him to be even better this season.
“Ryan did such a good job going in as a starter, winning some games for us,” said Madalon of Croddick, who posted a goals against average of 11.04 and a save percentage of .566 in 2025 and will be backed up by junior Colin Vickery, sophomore Carter Johnson, and freshman Gus von Metzsch. “He really settled in, our team understood how to play around him. We think he is one of the best in the country and we are going to work our tails off to put him in the right spots to prove that.”
Facing a gauntlet of Penn State, No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Syracuse, and No. 6 North Carolina in its first four games this season, Madalon is looking forward to see how the Tigers stack up against such formidable competition.
“For us, with how quickly it starts we are all excited about it,” said Madalon. “Every game is tough. I always try to play the best, that has always been our approach. It is a pretty hard schedule. It is just coming together early. Even though we may be a little underprepared early in some of these games, we are just looking to develop. It is just how physical can we play, just how fast can we play, how is our effort, things we can control always. We have got an experienced team, we are excited to roll it out there.”
The clash against the Nittany Lions in the opener figures to be a good learning experience for the Tigers.
“That coaching staff is one of the best in the country,” said Madalon. “They reload every year. They are one of the, if not, the most consistent teams in Division I lacrosse recently. They are awesome. The [Hunter] Aquino kid is a superstar. They have great defensemen. They are great up the middle of the field in terms of the face-off unit. They are a really talented crew. We have our hands full.”