Notre Dame will take on North Carolina in the ACC championship game on Sunday.
DURHAM, N.C. - For the second time in just four seasons the University of Notre Dame men's lacrosse team will play for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship title. The Irish defeated Duke by a final score of 7-6 in the semifinals to setup a showdown against North Carolina at noon on Sunday in Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Freshman midfielder Bryan Costabile led the Irish with three goals, marking the first hat trick in his young career. Junior attackman Mikey Wynne added two goals, while Ryder Garnsey and Drew Schantz each scored to propel the Irish to victory. Senior goalkeeper Shane Doss made 10 saves on the evening.
The Irish defense put on a clinic in the first half, as Notre Dame shut out the Duke attack in the first 30 minutes of the game. The Irish built a two-goal lead in the first quarter, receiving goals from Wynne and Costabile.
Notre Dame added another goal to its lead in the second stanza, as Costabile scored his second of the game with just under a minute left in the half. Doss recorded six saves in the opening 30 minutes of play.
WE ARE GOING TO THE SHIP! Notre Dame defeats Duke 7-6! pic.twitter.com/3kPmlapnr6
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) April 29, 2017
Duke managed to cut the Notre Dame lead to two goals at 4-2 in the third quarter. Notre Dame's lone goal came from Costabile, as he scored his third of the game to complete his hat trick.
The offenses came to life in the fourth and final frame. Duke scored twice in just over the first five minutes of the quarter to tie the game at 4-4. Schantz answered for the Irish with a rocket from distance to beat the Blue Devil keeper and put Notre Dame back on top with the score 5-4.
After Duke managed to level the score at 5-5 with 6:36 left in the contest the Irish got two huge scores from Garnsey and Wynne to give Notre Dame a two-goal cushion at 7-5. The Blue Devils managed to trim the lead to one at 7-6 with 23 ticks left on the clock but the Irish saw the game out and secured the victory.
