Princeton wins NCAA men's lacrosse championship, scoring 11 unanswered goals in 16-9 victory over Notre Dame

Princeton prevented Notre Dame from winning its third men’s lacrosse championship on Monday with 11 unanswered goals in the first half on the way to a 16-9 victory and 2026 national title at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

Will Maheras scored a wraparound goal two minutes into the first period to give the Fighting Irish the early lead. It was the senior’s 19th goal of the season.

Notre Dame added two more goals during the next three minutes, with Josh Yago and Matt Jeffery scoring 23 seconds apart. Yago tallied his 33rd goal for the year, while Jeffery joined Maheras with his 19th score.

However, Princeton quickly recovered with Chad Palumbo getting his 45th goal at the 8:31 mark of the first quarter. One minute later, Porter Malkiel scored to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 3-2.

With 3:34 remaining in the quarter, Palumbo scored his second goal to tie the score at 3-3. But Princeton had more — so much more — for Notre Dame in a second-quarter onslaught.

Colin Burns and Andrew McMeekin scored four seconds apart in the opening minutes to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead. Palumbo followed up less than two minutes later with his third goal of the match.

This story will be updated with more information.