Princeton Storms Back To Top Yale 12-10 In Ivy Semifinal, Will Face Cornell Sunday

Sunday, May 3

Ithaca, NY

Princeton University

Cornell

Chad Palumbo goal agianst Yale in Ivy Semifinal

Photo by: Camryn Ley

Princeton Storms Back To Top Yale 12-10 In Ivy Semifinal, Will Face Cornell Sunday

May 01, 2026 | Men's Lacrosse

Okay everyone. Back to Syracuse. Unpack it all. You're staying for the weekend.

The Princeton men's lacrosse team came from four goals back to take down Yale 12-10 in the second semifinal of the Ivy League tournament Friday night at chilly, rainy Schoellkopf Field. The Tigers will now play Sunday at 1 in the final against host Cornell; the winner will get the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though both teams will be in the field when it is announced Sunday at 9:30.

Because of a run on hotels in the area, Princeton has had to stay in Syracuse for this trip. The team packed everything up and had it on the bus ready to go back to Princeton in case of a loss, and with the way the first 20 minutes went, that looked like a possibility. By the time there were 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Yale had a 6-2 lead, Princeton had committed five face-off violations and all of the momentum was in blue.

And then? It all changed. Princeton scored the next seven goals, turning that 6-2 deficit into a 6-5 game at the half and then a 9-6 lead with 5:28 left in the third. Yale came within one at 9-8 after scoring two straight, the second an extra man goal 14 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Princeton again turned the momentum back around, getting a Colin Burns goal on an assist from Nate Kabiri and then Aidan McDonald backhanded one into the net three minutes later, building it back to a three-goal lead. Yale again got within two with 3:48 left before John Dunphey scored into an empty net with 1:26 to play. Yale's final goal came with 15 seconds to go.

OH MY 77 pic.twitter.com/OU9ZmTRkPZ
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) May 2, 2026

Tucker Wade had three goals, all during the 7-0 run, and Chad Palumbo also had a three-goal day, along with two assists. Dunphey and freshman Parker Reynolds scored twice, and Kabiri had three assists, giving him 30 goals and 31 assists for the season.

Andrew McMeekin won 12 of 21 face-offs with nine groundballs, leaving him one FO away from the career-record at Princeton. McMeekin will bring 645 career wins into the final Sunday, one away from Greg Waller's 34-year-old school record.

Princeotn has now beaten Yale eight straight times.