CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Notre Dame’s memorable 2026 season came to an end in the NCAA Championship title game, as the Fighting Irish suffered a 16-9 defeat to No. 1 Princeton on Memorial Day inside Scott Stadium.
The Irish were playing in their third national championship game over the last four seasons.
Despite the loss, Thomas Ricciardelli had a notable performance in goal, making a season-high 19 saves.
On the offensive end Josh Yago and Will Angrick each recorded multiple goals, scoring two apiece.
Yago, Ricciardelli and Shawn Lyght were each named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second-straight game, the Irish were on fire coming out of the gate, scoring three goals in the opening 5 minutes of action to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Will Maheras scored the opener followed by strikes from Yago and Jeffery.
After a Princeton timeout the Tigers managed to settle in and respond with three straight goals of their own to level the score at 3-3 with 3:34 left in the first quarter.
Notre Dame was then whistled for a two-minute, non-releasable penalty but were able to escape unscathed and keep the game even after the opening 15 minutes of action.
The Tigers took over the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Irish 8-0 to take an 11-3 lead into the halftime break.
Notre Dame refused to go away, as Angrick scored the first two goals of the second half to make it 11-5.
Princeton got one back with a score to push its lead to 12-5 before Dylan Faison and Luke Miller each scored to trim the lead to five at 12-7 with 5 minutes left in the third.
The Tigers scored the final goal of the period to give them a 13-7 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Yago wrapped around the crease and scored his second of the afternoon to make it a 13-8 game before Princeton answered with 10 minutes left, moving the score to 14-8.
The Tigers went on to score two of the final three goals to go on to win the title by a score of 16-9.
— ND —