Princeton are heading to the NCAA quarterfinals with a piece of recognition the Tigers have not previously claimed this season — unanimous No. 1 status in the national media poll. After collecting all 21 first-place votes following their opening-round win, the top seed will meet No. 8 Penn State on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET at Delaware in one of the bracket's most clearly drawn matchups.
It is also a matchup that captures the wider story of a wide-open tournament. Princeton (14-2) and Notre Dame (11-2) have been the only two unanimous No. 1 teams in the media poll all season — Princeton this week, Syracuse for a single week after a victory over Maryland — but the chaos of the opening round, with three of the top eight seeds bounced, has given oxygen to the notion that any survivor can win the title.
Podcast analysts have leaned into the narrative with a touch of irony. As The Crosse Commission's Jake Nazar put it: "I'm seeing a lot of people's national championship predictions. I'm seeing a lot of Princeton, which is not an unfair take, but it is a bit like can you really have a wide open tournament if everyone picks the same team to win the championship Tigers?"
The Tigers will lean again on Tewaaraton finalist Nate Kabiri, whose 35-goal, 41-assist season has put him at the centre of every Princeton attacking sequence. First-team All-American goalkeeper Ryan Croddick has provided the calm at the other end, while faceoff specialist Andrew McMeekin enters the weekend with a 55.3 percent win rate — the kind of possession edge that turns one-goal games into three-goal cushions.
Penn State will not be intimidated. Coach Jeff Tambroni's Nittany Lions have built their tournament run around a senior-heavy roster led by faceoff specialist Reid Gills (63 percent win rate, honorable mention All-American) and the freshman scoring spark of Hunter Aquino, who hammered a hat trick in the first-round win over Army. The Penn State plan is straightforward: win the faceoff battle in midfield, slow Princeton's tempo and force Croddick into save situations he doesn't want to face.
It's the kind of matchup that has historically rewarded the higher seed — Princeton are healthier, deeper and quicker — but the bracket's openness gives Penn State permission to dream. The first round demonstrated how vulnerable seeded teams can be to a single bad quarter, and any sustained possession edge from Gills could re-tilt expectations. If Penn State can stay within two heading into the fourth quarter, the pressure shifts.
For Princeton, the calculus is more familiar. Win possession enough times to give Kabiri space to dictate, trust Croddick on stops and turn the third quarter into the kind of attacking display that has separated them from the rest of the field. The Tigers' two losses came in tight margins against teams that already have, or could yet, exit the tournament. A win against Penn State sends them to Foxborough for Memorial Day weekend as the firm tournament favourite — and forces the rest of the bracket to find an answer for a team built to win the title.