Scoring on OT faceoff, Blue Devils get instant victory over Irish
BALTIMORE – In an effort to boost television ratings, the NCAA lacrosse championship faced off at 3:30 p.m. As it turned out, a perfect time for an afternoon nap on Memorial Day as Duke and Notre Dame played the lowest-scoring game in finals history.
But there was reason to wake up 2 hours, 20 minutes later, when the Blue Devils and Irish faced off in overtime.
Duke sophomore C.J. Costabile made the moment his, raking the faceoff left, scooping the ball cleanly off the turf, taking it straight down the field with his defender’s long stick, and scoring over the right shoulder of Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers.
The Blue Devils’ 6-5 victory before 37,126 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore was long-awaited success for a program that had experienced more than its share of Final Four heartbreak. In the last five years, Duke had lost twice in the title game by one goal, and twice in the semifinals.
“Guys the year before me, they’ve all been here like three times before,” said Costabile. “Finally to walk off that field with big smiles on their faces, that was the best moment.”
The title put appropriate closure on the careers of seven Duke players, who were granted a controversial extra year of eligibility after the Blue Devils’ 2006 season was cancelled following rape allegations against three players, which later proved false.
The most touching scene, for coach John Danowski, came when he noticed former players Zack Greer, Tony McDevitt, and his son, Matt Danowski – all members of the 2006 team — on the field afterward.
“They were all crying. It meant so much to them,” said John Danowski, who took over the team in 2007. “For me, same thing. It was a very emotional time, very cool time.”
On a day when All-American attackmen Ned Crotty and Max Quinzani had just an assist each and failed to score against Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers (15 saves), Duke (16-4) needed other heroes.
Answering the call were close defenders Parker McKee (four ground balls) and Mike Manley (three ground balls), who held Notre Dame senior attack Neal Hicks without a point for just the second game this year.
Rising at the other end for Duke, were attack Zach Howell (2 goals, 1 assist), and midfielder Steve Schoeffel (2 goals), one of Duke’s fifth-year seniors.
The most unlikely hero of all was Costabile, the Devils’ No. 2 faceoff man, who was hobbled much of the season after breaking an ankle in a December sledding accident. Six months later he lived a childhood dream.
“Everyone thinks about that,” said Costabile. “To actually think it actually comes true is fairy tale stuff.”
Costabile also had a big goal in the fourth period of Duke’s 14-13 victory over Virginia in the semifinals. When standout faceoff man Sam Payton (1 of 5) struggled in Monday’s heat, Costabile took over. When he won the overtime faceoff, Rodgers had little defense.
“You don’t know what you’re looking for,” said Rodgers, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. “He’s got a six-foot pole in his hands and he can put it low on you or he can put it up top.”
Bidding to become the first unseeded team to win an NCAA title, Notre Dame (10-7) slowed the pace by talking care of the ball and milking possessions, preventing the athletic Blue Devils from running the field and creating transition opportunities.
“We thought we could win a game like this,” said Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan. “We came up one goal short.”
Junior midfielder Zach Brenneman (3 goals) scored twice in the first period, but was trumped by Schoeffel who scored the lone goal of the second period, giving Duke a 3-2 lead.
The Blue Devils were up, but the game was going the way of the Irish as junior defender Kevin Ridgway (Georgetown Prep) wrapped up Crotty (3 shots) and senior defender Mike Creighton frustrated Quinzani (5 shots).
“It hurts. We were executing our game-plan pretty well,” said Ridgway. “It’s kind of a bummer.”
It remained tight in the third period as Notre Dame junior midfielder David Earl split defenders and scored on a lunging shot to tie it. After Howell put Duke back in front, Earl fed Brenneman to tie it again.
The fourth period followed in kind. After Earl fed sophomore attack Sean Rogers for a goal that put the Irish up, 5-4, Howell answered with a feed to sophomore midfielder Justin Turri to tie it with 8:44 left.
After that, Duke had opportunities, but Rodgers, who made six saves in the period, remained stout, until Costabile’s overtime heroics.
Afterward, Notre Dame rued an opportunity lost as it put just 10 of 31 shots on goal against Duke’s shaky freshman goalie Dan Wigrizer (5 saves).
“We got opportunities to score a lot more than five goals, but we shot the ball horribly today,” said Corrigan. “That’s just on us. We just didn’t put the ball in the cage.”
