2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame advanced to the 2026 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship Game, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 15-7 win over No. 6 seed Syracuse on Saturday, May 23, in the national semifinals, hosted by the University of Virginia in front of a crowd of 24,396 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In the other semifinal, Duke lost to top-seeded Princeton, 14-7.
The No. 2 seed Fighting Irish (13-2) face Princeton in the national championship game on Monday, May 25, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Notre Dame will make its third national championship game appearance in the last four seasons. The Fighting Irish won the first two national titles in program history in 2023 and 2024.
Notre Dame is the 39th ACC team to reach the national championship game. The ACC has had at least one team in the national championship game in 17 of the last 23 seasons.
While Notre Dame led for the majority of the game, Syracuse pulled within 9-7 on a Payton Anderson goal with 1:39 left in the third quarter. Notre Dame gained the momentum back and took control in the fourth quarter following a two-minute, non-releasable Orange penalty, scoring three goals with the man-up advantage to push its lead out to five with 13:12 left in the fourth quarter. That was part of six unanswered Fighting Irish goals during the fourth quarter.
Josh Yago had a huge day for the Fighting Irish, with a hat trick and four assists as he totaled seven points. Brock Behrman added two goals and two assists, while goalie Thomas Ricciardelli made 14 saves.
Syracuse (13-6) was paced by Finn Thomson, who scored four goals, and Luke Rhoa, who scored a pair of goals. Jimmy McCool totaled 11 saves.
Joey Spallina recorded a pair of assists to finish his standout career with 190 assists, which is second in ACC history and just two shy of the ACC record of 192, set by Virginia’s Connor Shellenberger. Spallina finished third in the ACC career annals in total points with 333.
In the first semifinal game on Saturday, Duke (11-5) saw its season come to an end with a defeat to Princeton, as the Tigers broke open a close game in the third quarter. Benn Johnston recorded a hat trick to lead the Blue Devils, while goalie Buck Cunningham made a dozen saves.
The ACC owns 19 NCAA Championships in men’s lacrosse, including four of the last six. The five active ACC teams have combined for 27 national championships, including 11 of the last 17.
2026 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship
Saturday, May 9 – First Round
at No. 2 North Carolina 24, UAlbany 6
Duke 14, at No. 4 Richmond 12
Sunday, May 10 – First Round
at No. 2 Notre Dame 18, Jacksonville 5
at No. 6 Syracuse 16, Yale 15
Georgetown 14, at No. 5 Virginia 10
Saturday, May 16 – Quarterfinals
No. 2 Notre Dame 15, Johns Hopkins 9
No. 6 Syracuse 15, No. 3 North Carolina 11
Hempstead, New York
Sunday, May 17 – Quarterfinals
Duke 16, Georgetown 6
Newark, Delaware
Saturday, May 23 - Semifinals
No. 1 Princeton 14, Duke 7
No. 2 Notre Dame 15, No. 6 Syracuse 7
Charlottesville, Virginia
Monday, May 25 - Championship
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Princeton | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Charlottesville, Virginia
All times Eastern.