Duke defeated the Irish in overtime and go on to face Syracuse in a rematch of the 2015 ACC Championship.
KENNESAW, Ga. -- Sophomore attackman Justin Guterding scored 40 seconds into overtime to complete Duke’s 10-9 comeback win over fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the ACC Championship semifinal on Friday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The 13th-ranked Blue Devils outscored the Irish 6-1 in the final 20 minutes to come away with the win.
The third-seeded Blue Devils advance to the title game to play fourth-seeded Syracuse Sunday at 12 noon on ESPNU. It will be a rematch of the 2015 championship game, which the Orange won 15-14.
Senior Chad Cohan led Duke (10-6) with three goals and two assists, while Case Matheis had one goal and three assists. Overall, the seniors were exceptional for the Blue Devils, totaling 13 of Duke’s 17 points in the game.
A nice cup of ☕️ this morning & replay of @guterball33 OT game winner. No better way to start a Saturday. Watch:https://t.co/k5bY4WSLrV
— Duke Men's Lacrosse (@Duke_MLAX) April 30, 2016
Trailing 8-4 late in the third quarter, Duke, behind a goal and an assist from Cohan, rallied to make it 8-6 heading into the final 15 minutes. The San Francisco native continued to carry the Blue Devils in the comeback effort as he pulled Duke within one just 1:01 into the final period.
Notre Dame’s Ryder Garnsey put Notre Dame back up two, 9-7, 44 seconds later, but the Blue Devils took advantage of an Irish penalty and Cohan threw in a Matheis feed to make it a one-goal game again.
Unilke it had done throughout the game, Notre Dame was unable to come up with a response and senior Myles Jones, having been held scoreless in the previous 52 minutes, came up big with the unassisted tally to tie the game, 9-9.
Neither team was able to find the back of the cage down the stretch as both goalies registered saves to set up the exciting overtime finish.
For the Blue Devils, junior goaltender Danny Fowler was outstanding with 12 saves, including five in the fourth quarter. Duke’s faceoff game was equally as impressive as Kyle Rowe won 18-of-23 draws and picked up five ground balls. Ian Yanulis was outstanding on the wing and on defense, corralling seven ground balls.
Notre Dame (9-3) was led by Sergio Perkovic’s three goals and one assist while netminder Shane Doss was credited for 11 saves.
