Top-ranked Duke falls to Notre Dame, 13-9, in men’s lacrosse national championship
The pain and frustration will diminish in time.
What the Duke men’s lacrosse team will be left with after that — following Sunday’s 13-9 loss to Notre Dame in the national championship game — should be pride rather than shame, Blue Devils coach John Danowski said.
“If this is the worst thing that’s going to happen in your life, you’re living a really good life,” Danowski said, after his club rallied from a five-goal halftime deficit to tie before Notre Dame turned it on to win its first national title in men’s lacrosse. “You got to play in front of 60,000 people over three days. You got to be with your friends for another four days in Philadelphia. I mean, what a great experience.
“You didn’t win the game. The other team was better today. That happens. But let’s not hang our heads. Let’s be really proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished and what you’re going to accomplish going forward.”
Why Duke didn’t accomplish the ultimate Sunday was a testament to Notre Dame’s staunch defense, goalkeeper Liam Entenmann —voted the tournament’s MVP — and some inconsistent offense. After dominating most of the way in Saturday’s 16-15 overtime win against Penn State in the semifinals, the Blue Devils had to play from behind virtually all day.
Yet Duke was never fazed. “I’m incredibly proud of our guys just fighting back to cut that lead down,” senior defenseman Kenny Brower said. “I mean, it was 6-1. That’s a pretty tough lead against a tough team like Notre Dame to get back there. We continued to fight, but at the end of the day they just made a couple more plays than us.”
Added leading scorer Dyson Williams: “When you get to the big stage, and it’s one game, things don’t always go your way ... Obviously we struggled in the first half but then you take a deep breath. ... We realized there’s no point in coming out and sitting down. So we gave it our all.”
Danowski’s halftime message had something to do with that. “It was somewhat direct, somewhat challenging their character a little bit. Sometimes it requires a gentle hand, and sometimes it requires a little bit of tough love.
“I would say it was more on the tough love side. Even though it was 6-1, defensively we were terrific. But Notre Dame was very opportunistic. They’ve been like that all year.”
Never more so than after Charles Balsamo’s shot ricocheted off a Notre Dame defender into the net to tie it at 7 late in the third. The Irish responded with two goals before the end of the period to regain command.
“I don’t think it bothered us,” said Danowski, whose club never got closer than two goals the rest of the way. “We had just come back from a five-goal deficit, so two goals is not insurmountable. If you get that next one, 9-8. So we hung in there and kept fighting.”
Duke, which was seeking its fourth men’s lacrosse national title, finished the season 16-3. Notre Dame finished 14-2.
“Évery season brings a new journey, and at Duke we try not to dwell too much on the past,” explained Danowski, now 240-74 in his 17 seasons in Durham. “Obviously it didn’t end up being a championship season for us, but I did think it was a great step moving forward, and our team showed a lot of character.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 4:04 PM.