SEMI TOUGH!!! Ferocious Tigers Race Past Duke Into NCAA Championship Game

Saturday, May 23

Charlottesville, Va.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

16-2, 5-1

Duke

11-5, 1-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Duke	2	2	2	1	7
Princeton	3	3	5	3	14

Men's Lacrosse Celebration 2026 NCAA Semifinals

Photo by: Nick Ierardi

SEMI TOUGH!!! Ferocious Tigers Race Past Duke Into NCAA Championship Game

May 23, 2026 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

The last words that the Princeton men's lacrosse team heard before leaving its locker room at Scott Stadium Saturday afternoon for its NCAA semifinal game against Duke were these: "Play hard for 60 minutes and have two more days together."

And yes, Princeton did just that. It would be 60 minutes of Tiger ferocity, and when it was over, this team did in fact have another two days together. The final was top-seeded Princeton 14, Duke 7, sending Princeton into the national championship game Monday at 1 against No. 2 Notre Dame.

So yes, it did take all 60 minutes. On the other hand, there was a sign 1:27 into the first quarter that this was going to be Princeton's day. It came with the game still scoreless, on Duke's first shot, a bouncer from Brady Scioletti that appeared to handcuff Tiger goalie Ryan Croddick, only to have Croddick get his body in front of it.

It wasn't quite "game over" at that point. Sort of.

Croddick was dialed in all day, from that shot until the end. He'd make 20 saves, tying another first-team All-American goalie (and Hall of Famer) Scott Bacigalupo for the most ever by a Princeton goalie in an NCAA tournament game and putting up the most in a Final Four game since Johns Hopkins' Michael Gvozden made 20 in the 2008 final.

Croddick made saves on high shots, low shots, bounce shots. He and his defense held Duke to less than half of its season average in goals, as the Blue Devils had come in ranked fourth in Division I in scoring offense.

Princeton came into the game third in offense and equaled its season average. The Tigers got four goals from Colin Burns and three from Jake Vana and Nate Kabiri, who also had a pair of assists. The Tigers did what they've done all season — take a close game and put it away after intermission.

Duke led 4-3 on a goal 22 seconds into the second quarter. Tucker Wade scored two goals in the final 1:10 of the first half to make it 6-4 Tigers at the break, and Princeton was up 7-4 early in the third quarter by the time the Blue Devils scored again. Even after Duke answer to make it 7-5, Princeton then scored three straight, getting goals from Kabiri, Porter Malkiel and Burns in a span of 1:37, and suddenly it was a five-goal edge. Duke never got closer than four the rest of the way.

Celebrating with the boys is the best. pic.twitter.com/7SYOHM0b1U
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) May 23, 2026

If Croddick's first save set the tone, the game was defined by a single play in the third quarter, after Duke had made it 7-5. The Blue Devils had possession with a chance to make it a one-goal game, only to see Finn Fox take it away from Scioletti and then have Hunter Spiess come up with what can only be described as a nasty groundball. Next up? The three-goal Princeton run.

Again, it wasn't quite "game over" but it might as well have been.

While this wasn't a day about milestones, Princeton did have three of them, two of which came from Kabiri, who had his 100^th career goal and then also reached 200 career points (becoming the ninth Tiger to do so). Wade for his part went over the 100-point mark with his two goals.