No. 3 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Duke, 13-9, by ending the 2023 DI men's lacrosse national championship game on a 6-2 scoring run.
This title is the first in program history for Notre Dame. It had lost its previous two trips to the championship game in 2010 and 2014.
The defense and goaltending was the story for the Fighting Irish. They allowed a Duke goal 35 seconds into the first quarter and then didn't allow another Blue Devil score until the third quarter. In the championship-deciding fourth quarter, the Notre Dame defense held Duke's prolific offense to just two goals. Liam Entenmann was outstanding for Notre Dame. He made 18 saves in goal for the Fighting Irish, a season-high tally for the senior netminder.
Six players scored exactly two goals for Notre Dame in the win, not including Pat Kavanagh, who was held scoreless but did manage an assist.
Notre Dame held Duke's two leading scorers, Brennan O'Neill and Dyson Williams, to just one goal each โ a fitting end to the season for Notre Dame's top-10 scoring defense.
No. 1 Duke scored 35 seconds into the national title game, but No. 3 Notre Dame kept the Blue Devils' dominant offense off the scoresheet for the remaining 29:25 of the first half to head into the break up 6-1.
Liam Entenmann was fantastic in goal for Notre Dame, making eight saves on nine shots on goal. Offensively, the Fighting Irish got six goals from six different goal scorers. No player has more than three shot attempts or two points.
ENTENMANN. A WALL. ๐ซ
๐บ x
โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
Duke will try to come back from a halftime deficit for the second time this tournament. In the opening round they trailed Delaware 8-5 at halftime, eventually winning 12-11.
Halftime: No. 3 Notre Dame 6, No. 1 Duke 1 | ESPN | Live stats here
โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
Live from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, No. 1 Duke meets No. 3 Notre Dame for the 2023 national championship. Opening face-off is now on ESPN.
V. โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
No. 1 Duke meets No. 3 Notre Dame in the 2023 NCAA DI men's lacrosse national championship game at 1:00 p.m. in Philadelphia.
These teams will meet for the third time in a national championship with Duke winning the first two matchups in 2010 and 2014. In the teams lone matchup this year, Notre Dame downed Duke 17-12 in South Bend.
The top-seeded Blue Devils reached their seventh national championship game in program history with a thrilling semifinal win over Penn State in overtime. Duke has one of the nation's most explosive offenses, led by Brennan O'Neill and Dyson Williams. Williams' 59 goals leads Duke and ranks ninth in the nation with 3.28 goals per game, while O'Neill's ranks second in the country with 5.28 points per game.
After losing in their third game of the season, Duke has since won 14 of their 15 contests, with the lone loss to Notre Dame. In the NCAA tournament they beat Delaware and Michigan to advance to the semifinals where they narrowly escaped Penn State to reach championship Monday.
No. 3 Notre Dame
Like Duke, Notre Dame comes into Monday's matchup with just two losses, both coming to Virginia in the regular season. But, the Fighting Irish got past their kryptonite on Saturday, downing No. 2 Virginia in overtime of the national semifinal.
Notre Dame ranks third in the nation in goals per game, just one spot ahead of Duke, who ranks fourth. The Irish are a bit more balanced than Duke, but carry the same top-heavy star power as the Devils. Pat and Chris Kavanagh are a deadly duo of brothers, with the oldest, Pat, recently being named a Tewaaraton Award finalist for the second time in his illustrious college career.
Schedule and stats
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 1:00 p.m. | ESPN |Live stats here
With a 17-12 win over previously undefeated Tufts, the Salisbury University Seagulls win their fifth national title in the last 12 years.
Salisbury was able to keep Tufts prolific offense in check, especially in the first half. The Seagulls were able to keep the Jumbos off the scoreboard in the first quarter, building a 6-0 lead after the first 15 minutes. While Tufts was able to make the game more interesting late, their early struggles proved to be too much to overcome as their national championship drought now stretches to eight years.
Brice Cromwell led the offensive charge for Salisbury. His scored four times in the game, highlighted by his first half hat-trick.
Salisbury finishes the 2023 campaign with an impressive 22-1 record, and caps it off with the program's 13th national championship in men's lacrosse.
Lenoir Rhyne defeated Mercyhurst to win the 2023 DII men's lacrosse championship, 20-5, in Philadelphia. The victory gives the program its first ever national title.
THE KINGS OF D2 LACROSSEโผ๏ธ
Your 2023 National Champions, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears!!!!!!
โ #GOBEARS (@LRbears)
6:48 pm, May 28, 2023
๐ Northwestern wins 2023 DI women's lacrosse championship
Top seeded Northwestern defeated No. 3 Boston College, 18-6, to win the 2023 DI women's lacrosse championship in Cary, NC. The national title comes as Northwestern's eighth in program history.
Back on Top ๐
The Northwestern Wildcats are National Champions again ๐ผ
โ Northwestern Lax (@NULax)
6:07 pm, May 28, 2023
๐ Middlebury wins back-to-back national titles
Middlebury defeated Gettysburg to win the 2023 DIII women's lacrosse championship, 17-9, in Salem, Va. The win caps-off an undefeated season for the Panthers and gives the program its ninth national title.
And that's the final here in Salem, VA for the DIII Women's Lacrosse National Championship! |
โ NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII)
x โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
In a closely fought contest, No. 3 Notre Dame squeezed past No. 2 Virginia, 13-12, in overtime to advance to the 2023 DI men's lacrosse national title game against No. 1 Duke.
Brian Devlin scored an impressive goal in overtime to send the Fighting Irish to their first title game since 2014. This will be Notre Dame's third championship game appearance โ they lost to Duke in each of the previous two.
Notre Dame scored twice in 31 seconds late in the fourth quarter to tie the game, but with less than one minute remaining in regulation, Virginia's Thomas McConvey capitalized on an opportunity in front of the net to give Virginia a 12-11 lead. Notre Dame countered almost instantly with a goal from Jake Taylor to tie the score again and send the game to overtime locked at 12.
Virginia got a big game from Tewaaraton Award finalist Connor Shellenberger, who made an excellent pass in front of the goal to set up McConvey's late go-ahead goal. His six points (three goals and three assists) led all players. Notre Dame's stars, Pat and Chris Kavanagh, were relatively quiet on the day. The brothers combined for just four points, despite 18 shot attempts between them.
But, the lack of offense from the Kavanagh brothers didn't slow the Irish as Eric Dobson's four goals led the way for the Irish to the championship game.
Notre Dame and Duke will meet for the second time this season. In April, the Fighting Irish downed the Blue Devils 17-12 in South Bend.
A back-and-forth first half comes to a close with No. 2 Virginia is tied No. 3 Notre Dame 6-6. Notre Dame scored twice in the first two minutes to jump out to an early lead, but two goals in thirty seconds for Virginia re-tied the score midway through the first quarter.
Virginia's Tewaaraton Award finalist Connor Shellenberger put up three first half points, including two goals, for the Hoos. On the other end, Virginia was able to keep Pat and Chris Kavanagh relatively quiet, as they managed just one assist between the two.
Virginia first half stats
Notre Dame first half stats
x โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
Garrett Leadmon scored in overtime to send the Blue Devils to Monday's national championship with a 16-15 win over Penn State.
In an fantastic game, No. 5 Penn State took some early punches from No. 1 Duke, but hung in during the second half before eventually evening the score in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions were able to hold Brennan O'Neill scoreless in the second half, shutting him down on the final possession of regulation to force overtime.
Jack Fracyon was unbelievable for Penn State, making 12 saves in goal to give PSU a chance against the nation's top team.
Even with Brennan O'Neill being quiet throughout the second half, Duke was able to find offense from other players. Six Duke players scored multiple goals, including Leadmon whose overtime winner was his third of the game.
Duke will now play Monday afternoon in their first championship final since 2018.
Tied at 15 apiece, Duke and Penn State will play an extra period with a trip to the national championship game on the line. Overtime starts now on ESPN2.
4:59 pm, May 27, 2023
Duke leads Penn State at halftime of semifinal #1
Brennan O'Neill's hat-trick sends the top-ranked Blue Devils into the break up 9-7 on No. 5 Penn State. Penn State had 11 first half turnovers, six of those unforced errors. The turnover margin has already proven to be crucial as it helped Duke establish an early lead.
HATTIE SZN FOR
๐บ ESPN2 x
โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
Despite the turnover issues, Penn State is hanging right there with No. 1 Duke. A matchup that some experts predicted as a blowout has not shaped up that way through the first 30 minutes. Penn State settled into their game in the second quarter, holding Duke to just three goals in the frame while scoring three of their own. The Nittany Lions have gotten strong goaltending from Jack Fracyon, whose strong tournament has continued with eight saves in the first half.
Duke first half stats
Penn State first half stats
โ NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX)
Only two games are scheduled throughout all of college lacrosse on Saturday. The 2023 NCAA DI men's lacrosse semifinals are set to be played on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four of the top five national seeds are set to play for a spot in Monday's national championship game. Here's what you need to know about each team before Saturday's games get underway.
No. 1 Duke
The Duke Blue Devils earned the top national seed with an impressive 13-2 regular season. The Blue Devils stacked seven ranked wins throughout the regular season, giving them one of the best resumes in the nation. Led by Tewaaraton Award finalist Brennan OโNeill, Duke's offense rarely struggles for goals. They are top-five in the country in scoring offense, and top-15 in scoring defense. En route to the semifinals, Duke narrowly escaped Delaware before drubbing Michigan in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 Virginia
For a good chunk of the season the Cavaliers occupied the No. 1 national ranking before losing at home to Duke. Virginia is as dangerous as anyone, as their nearly 18 goals per game led the nation by a wide margin. Like Duke, Virginia's offensive attack is spearheaded by a Tewaaraton Award finalist. Connor Shellenberger is one of two UVA players averaging more than five points a game, along with Xander Dickson, who ranks fourth in the nation in goals per game. Virginia has the star power to beat anybody at any time.
The Irish have already knocked off No. 1 Duke this season, beating the Blue Devils 17-12 in a midseason contest. Notre Dame leads the country in scoring margin. Their 6.29 margin is better than second place Virginia by nearly a full goal. The Irish rank inside the top-five in both scoring offense and scoring defense, making them a difficult matchup for any team they face because of their ability to play multiple styles of lacrosse. Offensively, Notre Dame's Pat Kavanagh was named a Tewaaraton Award finalist for the second time in his career. Kavanagh leads the country in assists, as his scoring ability opens up lanes for him to share the ball with Notre Dame's other talented attackers.
No. 5 Penn State
Penn State needed a dramatic comeback to reach this point of the tournament. Down 7-1 to Princeton, the Nittany Lions erupted on an 11-2 scoring run to give them a lead they would not give back. In that game, PSU goalie Jack Fracyon set the program record for saves in an NCAA tournament game with 16 stops in the win. Unlike the first three teams, Penn State does not have a Tewaaraton Finalist, but their balanced attack and strong defensive play keeps them in games.
