So much for the dynasty talk surrounding Notre Dame lacrosse.
In a season-ending battle of the sport’s top two teams, the Irish got the dream start they wanted but couldn’t keep pace with powerful Princeton in a 16-9 loss on Memorial Day in Charlottesville, VA.
For Princeton (17-2), it was the seventh NCAA title in the modern era but its first in a quarter century (2001). Notre Dame (13-3) fell one win shy in its quest for a third national title in four years.
“Today was just not our day,” Irish coach Kevin Corrigan said. “There were periods of the game where we got outworked and just got outplayed, and I know there were large periods of the game where we were outcoached.”
The 16 goals allowed represented a season-high for an Irish defense ranked in the top five nationally. Virginia’s 15-10 win over Notre Dame on May 1 in an ACC semifinal had been the largest output against the Irish this season.
“This is 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,” Corrigan said. “We just didn’t have that today.”
Switch to zone proved pivotal
The Irish led 3-0 just five minutes in before Princeton switched to a zone defense and completely changed the complexion of the game.
By the time Notre Dame scored again, Princeton had reeled off 11 unanswered goals across a span of 26:13. Four of those came from the rocket left-hand shot of Chad Palumbo, the Tigers’ senior midfielder and leading scorer.
“We knew they were probably going to do something like that at one point in the game,” Air Force graduate transfer Josh Yago said. “We prepared as much as we could for it, but unfortunately, we didn’t show up today when they went to the zone. They made more plays than we did.”
While Notre Dame defenseman Shawn Lyght acquitted himself well against Princeton’s Nate Kabiri in a showdown of junior Tewaaraton Award finalists, the deep Tigers offense simply had too many weapons while piling up 53 total shots on the grass playing surface at Scott Stadium.
Senior goalie Thomas Ricciardelli saved 19 of those, including many at point-blank range, but the onslaught rarely slowed from a Princeton attack that produced half a dozen players with 20 or more goals this season.
“They were moving the ball pretty well and winning 1-on-1 matchups,” Ricciardelli said. “That’s something we prided ourselves on coming into the game. It sucks that we couldn’t stop them and stop the bleeding because they certainly scored and they scored in bunches.”
Notre Dame did break through with a pair of man-up goals against Princeton’s stingy short-handed defense, which had allowed just one score in its past 26 penalty kills.
Corrigan, making his eighth trip to the Final Four, fell to 2-3 in NCAA title games. The Irish also fell one game shy of a championship in 2014 (11-9 loss to top-seeded Duke) and 2010 (6-5 loss to Duke in overtime).
Notre Dame, as a No. 3 seed, outlasted top-seeded Duke 13-9 in the 2023 NCAA final. In 2024 against seventh-seeded Maryland, the top-seeded Irish rolled 15-5.
Notre Dame is 12-2 in NCAA Tournament play since missing the postseason in 2022.
Rare weekend ask for Notre Dame lacrosse
Monday’s loss was Notre Dame’s first of the year in 12 tries when scoring first, but this also marked the first time all season the Irish had played twice in a three-day span.
Princeton was ready for its third such challenge of the year after claiming the Ivy League title (early May) and home wins over Syracuse and North Carolina (Feb. 27 and March 1) on similar turnarounds.
“I’m more disappointed than anyone, but I love this team,” Corrigan said. “I love these guys. There’s nothing but respect and love for each of the kids in our locker room.”
Yago, the Space Force trainee playing on Memorial Day, was held to three points (two goals and an assist) after going off for back-to-back seven-point games in the previous two Irish wins.
Will Angrick joined him with three points, and five other Irish players scored one goal apiece.
Yago’s wraparound goal narrowed the deficit to five (13-8) with 10:49 to play, but that was as close as the Irish would come.
“I talked to the team last night, just to tell them what it means to me, to all the service members that are fighting overseas and in our country, fighting for our freedom,” Yago said. “It means a lot. All my brothers and sisters in the military, I wish we could’ve won a national championship for them. It’s an honor to fight for this country, and I’m proud to be fighting for this country.”
Princeton won the groundball battle, 46-30, and took 16 of 30 faceoffs. The last Tigers goal came against an empty net as Notre Dame went into desperation mode.
Princeton improved to 4-0 against ACC teams, holding all four below 10 goals. The only two losses for Princeton this year came against Penn State (13-7 in the season opener) and defending champion Cornell (13-11).
Both were home games for the Tigers, champions of the Ivy League.
“There’s a lot to be proud of this season,” Yago said. “We made it to the national championship and that was our goal from the fall. We fell short, which is unfortunate, but I know the guys in the locker room are going to use that as fuel for next year.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame lacrosse comes up short in title game loss to Princeton