Notre Dame Wins First NCAA Championship
Irish Upset Duke 13-9 in Title Game
An all-around effort fueled the No. 3 seed Fighting Irish to a 13-9 upset of No. 1 seed Duke in the NCAA Division I Tournament final Monday afternoon before an announced 30,462.
Notre Dame (12-1) came into the game as the underdog, but the Irish played like anything but. They controlled the tempo of the game from the start and never let Duke (13-3) get into a rhythm.
The Irish were led by graduate attack Jake Taylor, who had three goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Pat Kavanagh added two goals and an assist, and senior attack Matt Kavanagh had two goals.
Duke was led by senior attack Michael Sowers, who had three goals. Junior attack Brennan O'Neill added two goals, and senior midfielder Justin Guterding had a goal and an assist.
The Irish defense was outstanding, holding Duke to just nine goals. Senior goalie Liam Entenmann made 10 saves.
The victory is Notre Dame's first NCAA championship in men's lacrosse. It is also the first time that a team from outside of the ACC has won the title since 2006.
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