SEVENTH HEAVEN: Members of the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team celebrate after they defeated Notre Dame 16-9 in the NCAA championship game on Monday afternoon at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. It marked the program’s seventh national crown and first since 2001. Princeton ended the season at 17-2, winning its last 12 games and setting a team record for single season wins. (Photo by Camryn Ley, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)
By Bill Alden
At halftime of the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship game last Monday afternoon, the legendary 2001 Princeton team was honored on the 25th anniversary of its national title.
About an hour and a half later, the 2026 Tiger squad joined its storied predecessors, routing Notre Dame 16-9 in the final before a crowd of 24,061 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
It marked the program’s seventh national crown and first since the 2001 team. Princeton ended the season at 17-2, winning its last 12 games and setting a team record for single season wins in the process.
In the early going, it looked like the top-seeded Tigers may be on the wrong side of history as they trailed second-seeded Notre Dame 3-0 five minutes into the game with the Fighting Irish aiming to win their third national title in four years.
But displaying its offensive skill and defensive tenacity, Princeton reeled off an 11-0 barrage to go ahead 11-3 at halftime. As the Tigers jogged into the locker room at intermission, they were high-fiving the ’01 team alums as they got ready to take the field for their 25th anniversary celebration.
In reflecting on the stunning 11-0 blitz, the biggest run ever for the Tigers in NCAA tournament competition, junior attacker and tri-captain Colin Burns said it was the product of sticking to the process.
“Coach Mitchell (offensive coordinator Jim Mitchell) was harping yesterday on not putting in anything new, but just playing on our principles,” said Burns, who scored three goals in the win with his diving tally to give Princeton a 4-3 lead ending up as the No. 1 highlight on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10. “And he really talked about how it’s all about us. So we just focused on doing us well, which is good spacing and ball movement and trusting each other and winning matchups. When we do all those things, good things happen.”
Senior star Chad Palumbo, who scored a game-high four goals and added an assist, echoed Burns’ assessment.
“You gotta rely on your principles more than any scout or anything like that,” said Palumbo. “We just came out and we just trusted our ball movement. We trusted our spacing. We trusted our pick setting and that’s what sparked the run for us.”
For Princeton head coach Matt Madalon, seeing his squad build a 29-11 edge in ground balls in the first half spoke volumes on the gritty mentality it brought to the field.
“Probably hard work all year, we always kind of preach that,” said Madalon. “We break huddles on GBs a lot. As not exciting as that sounds, it is the most important part of the game. I think our guys really focused on that. You’re playing on a surface you’re unfamiliar with, so you gotta focus on those moments, and I think that did help us tilt the field as well.”
In the second half, the proud Notre Dame team kept battling and drew to within 13-8 early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers answered with goals from Tucker Wade and Cooper Mueller to close the deal.
The raucous throng of Tiger fans and alums on hand at Scott Stadium roared their approval as it became clear that the Tigers had clinched the crown.
“We all call it the long orange line, you saw it,” said Palumbo. “They were the rowdiest fans this weekend. They do everything for us. They help us a ton on and off the field. And I think through that 25-year drought or whatever it was, like our alums were as hungry as we are.”
In Madalon’s view, Palumbo’s hunger for excellence has been a key to Princeton’s success.
“He’s our emotional leader,” said Madalon of Palumbo, who made the All-Tournament team along with Burns, attacker Nate Kabiri (1 goals, 3 assists in the final) and midfielder Wade (2 goals) with goalie Ryan Croddick (13 saves, 1 assist) getting named as the Most Outstanding Player. “He’s one of our team captains. His love for the game is what we’ve kind of always based our recruiting around. You want to really find guys that truly love this thing and love their craft and love being a great teammate. And he truly embodies that. So outside all the special things he does on the field, that’s what makes him really different.”
Fittingly, Palumbo had the ball on his stick as the clock hit 0:00 and he chucked the ball into the crowd of Princeton supporters in celebration and then ran into the dog-pile with his teammates.
“Yeah, it was pretty surreal,” said Palumbo. “That’s a moment that you kind of dream about your whole life. When we realized that we were going to win it, it was just unbelievable. I don’t think there’s words really to describe that moment.”
Madalon, for his part, is thrilled with how things have come together for his group.
“You know, for the program we always recruited these guys with the hopes and dreams that if you put it all together, you loved each other, you train the right way, you live your life the right way and balance it, you’d have an opportunity,” said Madalon, who is in his 11th year at the helm of the program. “That obviously makes me the most proud. It’s a place where we’re going to continue to try to do it.”
As Madalon and his staff look to keep pursuing titles, they don’t have to look far for inspiration.
“We walk into an office with six National Championship trophies every day,” said Madalon. “It reminds us we’re at a place where it can be done. So it’s extremely motivating. You see those teams, especially the 2001 team here today. We’ve always termed it like forever teams, those teams that win championships stay together forever, 25-year reunions and so on. That’s what these guys get to do now which we’re most proud of.”
In becoming the latest forever team for Princeton, the 2026 squad did it with a verve and skill that certainly made its champion predecessors proud.