No. 1 men’s lacrosse beats Penn State 14–10 to return to Final Four for the first time since 2022

The last time the Tigers won the national championship was 2001, led by Hall of Fame Head Coach Bill Tierney. 

Twenty-five years later, No. 1 men’s lacrosse (15–2 overall, 5–1 Ivy League) got one step closer, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to take down No. 7-ranked and eight-seeded Penn State (10–6, 3–2 Big Ten). 

Despite a career-high 17-save performance from Penn State goaltender Preston Hawkins, the Orange and Black scored five unanswered goals to close the game, turning a 10–9 deficit into a 14–10 win against a Nittany Lions team that handed the Tigers a 13–7 loss to open the 2026 season. 

Junior midfielder Tucker Wade led the Tigers with four goals as nine different Tigers found the back of the net. Senior captain and attacker Chad Palumbo had two goals and three assists to extend his career.

“That’s been our MO all season, anyone can step up on any given day,” Head Coach Matt Madalon told The Daily Princetonian. 

Junior attacker Nate Kabiri — a 2026 Tewaaraton finalist — was held to zero goals by Penn State defender Alex Ross. Ross was a first-round draft pick in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League draft and an Inside Lacrosse first-team All-American. 

“[Kabiri] had one of the toughest matchups in the country with Alex Ross; he was truly outstanding,” Madalon said. “I think [Kabiri] tried to take advantage of it best he can, got a couple shots off.”

Midfielder Chase Robertson recorded a hat-trick to lead a depleted Penn State group, who were hit with injuries during a game which saw field temperatures of 112 degrees. With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Penn State star attacker Hunter Aquino limped off the field. 

“We were lucky enough to be prepared pretty well throughout the entire week,” senior face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin said in a postgame press conference. “We had guys practicing in sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts … guys were able to get ahead of that throughout the week.”

Aquino — who led Penn State with 26 goals despite missing five regular-season games — briefly featured in the third quarter, but was a non-factor following the injury. Late in the third quarter, Ross began cramping and needed to be helped off the field. Postgame, Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni told reporters that Aquino did not practice leading up to the first round game against Army or today’s game against Princeton.

At the face-off X, the Tigers dominated, winning 19 of 27 face-offs (70.3 percent), with McMeekin contributing all 19 wins. In midfield, junior short-stick defensive midfielder Jackson Green was everywhere, igniting a Tiger offense in crucial moments of the game.

“Tucker Wade had a great performance, but I think Andrew McMeekin had an all-time career performance,” Madalon said. 

The story of the first half was Hawkins, who stopped a Tiger offense that outshot the Nittany Lions 28–15. In the first game against each other, Princeton attempted just 26 shots, marking a sharp contrast.

Penn State got on the board fast and quickly took a 2–0 lead. Princeton — a top two team in the nation in shooting percentage — started the game shooting zero-for-five, hitting the pipes three times before sophomore midfielder Jake Vana got the Tigers on the board. 

After Penn State made it 3–1 to start the second quarter, the Tiger offense started to get going. Wade scored his first of the game, and after picking off a Nittany Lion pass, Green started the attack with the ball, finding Palumbo, who tied the game at three. 

“[Hawkins] had an incredible game,” Wade said. “We felt like, throughout the game, we were getting good looks, and just couldn’t get it past him for a while.”

The offense was finding its groove as junior attacker Colin Burns and first year midfielder Parker Reynolds capped a 5–2 run to take a 6–4 lead, but Penn State quickly answered. At halftime, the game was a stalemate at 6–6. 

“It’s about to be a dog fight,” the Tigers were heard saying heading into the locker room.

A dog fight it was. The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither side able to pull away. After the Nittany Lions capped off a 4–0 run to go up 8–6, the Tigers produced their second run of three unanswered goals to take a 9–8 lead, with the ninth goal marking Palumbo’s 100th career goal. 

Tambroni’s team regularly switched between man-to-man and zone coverage, opting to go back into a zone late in the third quarter. Penn State attacker Liam Matthews tied the game at nine with 45 seconds left in the third, simultaneously earning a man-up opportunity for his side due to a slashing call on Princeton. However, McMeekin won the face-off, and the Tigers ran the clock out to kill the man-up. 

Early in the fourth, Penn State took a 10–9 lead. Princeton was struggling, committing uncharacteristic turnovers and giving the Nittany Lions multiple possessions. Down by one, Green — who had just committed a turnover — caused a turnover and pushed the ball in transition, resulting in a goal by senior midfielder Quinn Krammer, his fourth of the season.

“His play was awesome, because he made a really boneheaded play about 30 seconds prior,” Madalon said. “I actually tried to sub him off. He waved us off. It would’ve been a hard sub. It was the right thing for him to do, and then he made a play.”

From here on out, it was all Princeton. After a shot-clock violation on Penn State, the Tigers scored two goals in a span of five seconds to take a two-goal lead, with the latter coming courtesy of McMeekin off the face-off. Senior goalkeeper Ryan Croddick, who had struggled for most of the game, made a crucial save with just over five minutes remaining to keep the Nittany Lions at bay.

“A really hard game to play goalie in,” Madalon said. “Right after Krammer and McMeekin made those plays in transition, it just gave our whole team confidence.” 

After Wade’s fourth goal, the Princeton bench could start to feel it. An empty-net goal by junior short-stick defensive midfielder Cooper Mueller sealed a 14–10 Tiger win. In the fourth quarter, Penn State’s inability to take care of the ball and clear was on display, allowing Madalon’s squad to pull away.

Back in Championship Weekend for the first time since 2022, the Tigers will now face No. 13 Duke (11–4, 1–3 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Va., for a spot in the national championship.

“Thrilled to keep going back to practice with these guys,” Madalon said.

Hayk Yengibaryan is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu. 

Senior Sports writer Emilia Reay contributed reporting. 

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.