The Princeton University men’s lacrosse team returns many players who have lingering memories, or nightmares, from the last season’s final game, a 19-18 loss to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Over the offseason, those nightmares have been transformed into added motivation for the 2026 campaign. It might not be true lacrosse weather just yet, but the No. 3 Tigers face-off with No. 14 Penn State on Saturday at 12 p.m. on Sherrerd Field at the Class of 1952 Stadium. “We were pretty hungry coming out of last year. It was a great lacrosse game between Princeton and Syracuse,’’ said Princeton coach Matt Madalon, who is in his 11th season. “I don’t think we played as good as we would have liked, so it has been a motivating offseason.’’ Penn State (1-1), which is coming off an overtime loss to Villanova, will be a good challenge for the Tigers. “They are one of the best coached programs in the country and have been really consistent,’’ said Madalon, of Jeff Tambroni’s team. “It’s a top program in the nation and they have great talent all over the field. Very strong on defense and a tough team to prepare for in game one. But, our guys will be fired up and be excited.’’ The Tigers, who are the Ivy League favorite, have seven players returning who have garnered preseason All-America recognition. Chad Palumbo, the preseason Midfielder of the Year, was a 1st team selection, midfielder Tucker Wade and short stick midfielder Cooper Mueller were named to the 2nd team. Goalie Ryan Croddick was named to the third team and attackmen Peter Buonanno and Nate Kabri were Honorable Mention as was SSDM Jackson Green. “You always try to recruit the best guys and you hope they come in and develop,’’ said Madalon. “This has been a group of guys that has done a good job of developing and it’s earned a lot of great recognition. We are more into the team recognition then the individual stuff but it’s nice for these guys to get recognized in the preseason. It’s a recognition of their potential.’’ It’s a veteran team that understands the important honors come at the end of the season. The Tigers saw leading scorer Coulter Mackesy graduate, but a lot of firepower returns. Kabri had 32 goals and a team high 29 assists, Palumbo had 28 goals and 19 assists, Colin Burns had 29 goals and 17 assists, Wade had 27 goals and eight assists and Buononno had 19 goals and 11 assists. Croddick will see some new faces in front of him on defense as Jack Stahl is the only longstick starter returning. But, defenders like Cooper Kistler and Hunter Spies will help with the loss of Colin Mulshine and Michael Bath. Motivation can go a long way and the Tigers want it to last until May. ...read more read less