No. 10 Princeton 11, No. 1 North Carolina 9
ACC/Ivy Challenge — Game 2 | March 1, 2026 | Princeton, NJ | Sherrerd Field
We called it a coin flip. Princeton called heads. And then Ryan Croddick caught the coin out of the air, stuffed it in his pocket, and dared anyone to take it from him.
No. 10 Princeton stunned No. 1 North Carolina 11-9 on Sunday afternoon at Sherrerd Field in front of 2,404 fans, handing the Tar Heels their first loss of the season and completing a jaw-dropping ACC/Ivy Challenge sweep after the Tigers took down No. 6 Syracuse 11-7 on Friday night. It was Princeton's third consecutive win over a team that has held the No. 1 ranking this season — Maryland, Syracuse, and now UNC — all in a nine-day span.
The Ivy League didn't just humble Carolina in February. It body-slammed them into March.
THE CRODDICK GAME
There's no other way to frame this. This was Ryan Croddick's masterpiece.
The Princeton senior goalie made a career-high 25 saves — the most by a Tiger since 1985 — and several of them were legitimately absurd. But the sequence that will live in ACC/Ivy Challenge lore forever came with under five minutes left and the game tied 9-9.
Croddick stopped Dominic Pietramala. Then stopped the rebound. Then stopped Luke Bair on another rebound. Three saves. Five seconds. From a combined distance of maybe 10 yards from the cage.
In our preview, we wrote that UNC needed Josh Marcus to "go save-for-save with Croddick." Marcus actually had a fantastic game — a career-high 12 saves of his own — but the two goalkeepers combined for 37 saves, and Croddick simply would not break. His weekend line across both ACC/Ivy Challenge games: 39 saves, 16 goals against, .709 save percentage. Against two of the best offenses in America.
We flagged Croddick as Princeton's X-factor all week. Turns out we undersold him.
THE FOURTH-QUARTER COLLAPSE
Carolina had every chance to win this game. And for about two minutes and thirty seconds in the fourth quarter, they did.
Trailing 8-6 entering the final period, UNC ripped off three unanswered goals — including Brevin Wilson's go-ahead score — to take a 9-8 lead with 9:28 remaining. It was the Tar Heels' first lead of the entire game. The Sherrerd Field crowd went quiet. The Carolina sideline erupted. Momentum had completely shifted.
And then Princeton reminded everyone why they've won six national championships.
Peter Buonanno tied it at 9-9. Croddick made the triple save. Tucker Wade — whose father Ryan was a three-time All-American at UNC and two-time ACC Player of the Year — buried the go-ahead goal with 3:56 left. And Nate Kabiri, who finished with 3 goals and 3 assists on the day, put the dagger in with 2:38 remaining off a feed from Colin Burns (4 goals, 1 assist).
Croddick still wasn't done. He stepped into a passing lane on UNC's next possession for a caused turnover, then made one final save with 30 seconds left to end any miracle comeback hopes.
The man simply refused to lose.
WHAT WE GOT RIGHT (AND WHAT WE MISSED)
In the preview, we called this a "Game of the Year candidate." That was accurate. We said Princeton's crowd at Sherrerd Field would be electric. 2,404 showed up and delivered. We said UNC needed to win the faceoff X to have a chance. Wambach went 13-23 and UNC won the faceoff battle — and still lost. We did not predict that Croddick would put up the best single-game goaltending performance in Princeton lacrosse in 41 years.
The biggest thing we flagged that proved decisive: we wrote that "Princeton plays an elite brand of possession lacrosse and will not gift you extra opportunities" and that "UNC's offense has feasted on transition chances against lesser competition — Princeton will take those away." Carolina put up 56 shots — a massive volume — but Princeton's defense forced UNC into low-percentage looks all afternoon. The Tar Heels were living on volume, not efficiency. Croddick did the rest.
We also wrote that the Friday Syracuse-Princeton result would have a "massive ripple effect" on Sunday's game. Princeton beat Syracuse 11-7 on Friday and rode that momentum straight into the UNC matchup. The Tigers were flying.
THE PREVIEW PREDICTION THAT HURTS
From the preview: "If they split? It's still fine. This schedule is designed to prepare Carolina for May."
That's still true. But losing to Princeton for the second straight year in New Jersey — after last March's 14-12 defeat — is a pattern, not a fluke. The Tigers have UNC's number right now, and the revenge narrative we highlighted has now flipped entirely in Princeton's favor.
