2026 NCAA MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2026

Kevin Corrigan

Thomas Ricciardelli

Josh Yago

Scott Stadium

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Finals Media Conference

Princeton 16, Notre Dame 9

MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by Notre Dame Fighting Irish. We have head coach Kevin Corrigan, Thomas Ricciardelli and Josh Yago. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Corrigan, take questions for the players and then questions for Coach Corrigan. Coach.

KEVIN CORRIGAN: I guess, first, I recognize that this is Memorial Day, and thank those who serve and all those who have given what they've given for our country.

Today was just not our day. It just was not our day. We felt like there were periods of the game where we got outworked. We felt there were periods of the game where we just got outplayed, and I know there were large periods of the game where we were outcoached. And this was very disappointing result for a team that found a way week after week all year long to put themselves in a great position to win and did what needed to be done, and we just didn't have that today.

I'm more disappointed than anyone, but I love this team, I love these guys. Nothing but respect and love for each of the kids in our locker room.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. We'll take questions for the players.

Q. Thomas, when they had that run there in the first half, what did you kind of see them doing that was making life so difficult for you guys?

THOMAS RICCIARDELLI: They were moving the ball pretty well. They were winning one-on-one matchups, and that's something we prided ourselves on coming into the game. It sucks that we couldn't kind of stop them and stop the bleeding, because they certainly scored and they scored in bunches there.

Yeah, it sucked. They were shooting the ball really well. And I could have done more to kind of get myself in front of them and stop the ball, but can't go back and -- yeah.

Q. Josh, you guys go up 3-0, Princeton calls timeout. They switch to a zone. What about that zone was so hard to crack?

JOSH YAGO: I mean, yeah. We knew that they were probably going to do something like that at one point in the game, and we prepared as much as we could for it. But unfortunately it just wasn't -- we didn't show up today when they went to zone. And they made more plays than we did on our offensive end, and it's unfortunate. Today just wasn't our day.

Q. Josh, you guys got off to a decent start there in the second half, too. Did you feel like things were in a position where you could have yourselves a chance, and how do you think the rest of that third quarter kind of unfolded?

JOSH YAGO: I mean, yeah, like being down by however many we were at halftime is hard, for sure, especially with a good team like Princeton, but our message at halftime was it all starts with one. So we just had to keep chipping away.

I think we definitely did our best to try to minimize that lead that they had, but at the end of the day, it was just too big for us.

Q. Josh, Thomas made 19 saves today. How well did he backstop you all all year long?

JOSH YAGO: I mean, yeah, I've been saying it for a while now. He's a First Team All-American goalie. He's been our rock, and our offense has relied on him to bail us out in numerous games.

It didn't surprise me that he stood on his head the way that he did today. It sucks that we couldn't show up on the offensive end to help them out. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Q. For both of you guys, today aside, just how fulfilling has this season been for you guys?

THOMAS RICCIARDELLI: Yeah, I guess just coming into the season people probably counted us out, just after last year and the guys we lost. But we had faith in ourselves and belief in the locker room and just built a brotherhood with a foundation of just love and trust, and I'm just grateful for that experience.

And in August we had the goal in mind to win the National Championship. And we didn't get it done, but I think that we can be proud of the effort we put forward and the things we did to kind of get here. And all kind of 54 guys on the roster just doing their role, whatever that was and supporting each other. It sucks that we couldn't get it done, again, but yeah.

JOSH YAGO: Yeah. I think there's a lot to be proud of this season. I mean, made it to the National Championship, and that was our goal from the fall, just like Thomas has said. Yeah, we fell short, which is unfortunate, but I know the guys in the locker room are going to use that as fuel for next year.

Yeah, it sucks for all the fifth-years and the seniors that aren't coming back, but I mean, I wouldn't trade this year for anything. Like I love -- love these guys so much, and the bond in our locker room is so special. I'm sad that couldn't bring it home for them, but, yeah.

Q. Josh, today's result, was this season what you anticipated it could be when you transferred from Air Force? And what are your plans post this season?

JOSH YAGO: I'm just going to answer your first question, because I don't really want to talk about myself.

For this team, of course, yeah, I think making it to the National Championship is the standard for this program, and Coach Corrigan says it day one in the fall. Like that's our insight. So I think no one was surprised that we made it this far in our locker room.

People could have doubted us, but inside our locker room everyone knew that we were going to play this weekend. Again, we didn't get the end result that we wanted, but everyone in the locker room knew that we were going to play this weekend.

Q. Josh, I know it wasn't the result you wanted, but how special was it for you to play on Memorial Day?

JOSH YAGO: It was very special. I mean, I talked to the team last night, because -- and just to tell them what it means to me, to all the service members that are fighting overseas and our country, just fighting for our freedom. It means a lot. So all my brothers and sisters in the military, I wish we could have won a National Championship for them, but at the end of the day, it's an honor to fight for this country, and I'm proud to be fighting for this country.

MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Coach Corrigan.

Q. Kevin, may I ask you about the ground balls in particular in the first quarter?

KEVIN CORRIGAN: Yeah. We just got crushed on the ground balls. I wish I had an answer for you. I'm watching with probably not as good a view as you had. We just didn't seem to be able to make plays.

I thought -- that's what I say, early in the game, I thought we were getting out worked. And then after that I felt like we just weren't getting -- I mean, cheese and crackers, there were more balls that popped out of sticks that ended up in their -- it happens some days, and that's why you gotta work so hard.

I give them a lot of credit for it, though. They played really hard and really well off the ground, and their face-off guy did a great job and their wing guys. It was just a tough day for us in that area of the game.

Q. The work that Thomas did all season but particularly this weekend, can you kind of delve into how valuable he was for you guys?

KEVIN CORRIGAN: He's terrific. We knew when we recruited him how good we thought he could be. And he had the patience and the character to sit behind Liam Entenmann and watch and learn and continue to work to get better.

And so we knew at that point we thought we had a guy who was going to be pretty special, and we still feel that way. He's got one more year, and we look forward to having him back between the pipes next year for sure.

Q. Kevin, what specifically caused you problems with that zone?

KEVIN CORRIGAN: You know what, it was less the zone. It was more us. We didn't handle it well. Their goalie made some saves. We got some good shots that didn't go in. And, again, we got them out of the zone in the second half by finishing some of those balls, and then they went back to some man.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Mike, if I had to answer, we wouldn't have had problems with it, I guess.

Q. Coach, I had the opportunity to ask this a few years. But what lesson do you want the team as young men to take away from a day like today where it doesn't go their way after a great season?

KEVIN CORRIGAN: You know, I said to them right after the game, I said success has many parents and failure is an orphan. But we're not going to handle it that way. We're going to be accountable for all the good things that happened to us this year, which was a lot. And accountable for how we held each other up all year and did all that.

And then we're going to be accountable to each other for the things that didn't go well, like today, and learn from that and get better from it. We're not going to point fingers. We're not going to talk about would'ves, should'ves and could'ves. We're going to take it like men and handle ourselves with class and get back to work, because that's the only thing you can do.

Q. Coach, on Saturday you talked about how special it was to be back in Charlottesville. Having coached final fours in traditional major metropolitan cities and NFL stadiums and now one on a college campus, how do you value those sort of two different environments, and what did you think of Charlottesville this weekend?

KEVIN CORRIGAN: The people of Charlottesville that we dealt with all weekend were awesome. They were terrific hosts and everything else. We lost the game today. That's all I care about is I care about my team and their experience. So this was a lousy experience compared to two years ago. How's that?