Notre Dame punched its ticket to the NCAA national title game on Saturday, beating No. 6-seed Syracuse 15-7 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. The Irish will meet Princeton at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, May 25, back at Scott Stadium, with the game set to air on.
Josh Yago led the way with three goals and seven assists, giving him a team-high 54 points on 31 goals and 23 assists. Brock Behrman added two goals and two assists, Will Maheras had one goal and three assists, and both Max Busenkell and Luke Miller scored twice as Notre Dame rolled through the semifinal round.
Notre Dame set the tone immediately, scoring twice in the first 5 minutes to open a 2-0 lead. The Irish were up 4-3 after the first quarter and 7-4 at halftime before Syracuse trimmed the margin to 9-7 after three quarters. Notre Dame answered by pulling away late, and Thomas Ricciardelli backed the offense with 14 saves.
The numbers that mattered most came on special teams. Notre Dame finished 5-for-6 on extra-man chances, while Syracuse went 0-for-5. Notre Dame also scored a goal while down a man, its first of the season, a sharp edge that showed how complete the performance was on a day when the stakes were obvious from the opening faceoff.
The victory came in the NCAA Tournament semifinal round and sends Notre Dame into the final game of the season for the third time in four years. Princeton awaits in a rematch of the sport’s biggest stage, and Notre Dame arrives with a team that has already shown it can win in more than one way, from Yago’s all-around play to the defensive work that kept Syracuse from building any real momentum.
