NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The No. 9 Yale men's lacrosse team's strong 2026 season will continue, as the Bulldogs have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will head to Syracuse, New York to face the No. 6 Orange on Sunday, May 10 at 5 p.m. in the first round, as announced by the selection committee on Sunday night.
 
Yale, one of eight at-large selections, will be appearing in the tournament for the 13th time in school history and the first since 2023. The Bulldogs won the national championship in 2018 and were national runner up in 2019.
 
The Bulldogs enter with a 9–5 overall record, including a 4–2 mark in Ivy League play, placing them firmly in the at-large conversation. Yale's résumé is highlighted by key wins over No. 9 Cornell (13–12), No. 5 Harvard (15–9), and No. 18 Boston University (16–11), two of which came during a strong six-game winning streak. Most recently, the Bulldogs pushed No. 2 Princeton, the Ivy League Tournament champion, to the brink in a narrow 12–10 loss in the Ivy League tournament semifinals on Saturday evening. Yale also dropped a one-goal decision (11–10) to Princeton in their regular-season meeting.
 
Syracuse enters the matchup with an 11–5 overall record and a 2–2 mark in ACC play. The Orange most recently fell to North Carolina, 12–10, in the ACC semifinals, as the Tar Heels erased a 9–7 Syracuse lead with five fourth-quarter goals. The Orange offense was led by Finn Thomson, Michael Leo, and Luke Rhoa, who each recorded a hat trick. Yale and Syracuse last met in the NCAA first round in 2017, when the Orange secured an 11–10 victory.
 
With a balanced offensive attack and disciplined defense and experience against top competition, the Bulldogs now turn their attention to the tournament, where they will look to make a deep run on the national stage.