By By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer
BALTIMORE — Duke won its first NCAA men’s lacrosse championship in dramatic fashion, defeating Notre Dame 6-5 Monday on a goal by C.J. Costabile with five seconds gone in sudden-death overtime.
Costabile won the faceoff from Trever Sipperly and sprinted downfield before beating standout goaltender Scott Rodgers with a shot from directly in front of the net.
The Blue Devils immediately rushed onto the field and created a massive pile of players, sticks and helmets while celebrating the fastest goal to start an overtime in NCAA championship history.
Duke (16-4) twice before advanced to the title game — and lost by one goal both times. This time, however, they walked away with the championship trophy by defeating the unseeded Irish (10-7).
It was the lowest-scoring title game in history, yet what it lacked in offense it made up for in drama. There were five ties, and neither team led by more than one goal.
The previous lowest-scoring game was in 1982, when North Carolina beat Johns Hopkins 7-5.
Zach Brenneman scored three goals and Rodgers finished with 15 saves for the Irish, but he couldn’t stop the last shot that came his way. That ended a brilliant postseason run by Notre Dame, which defeated three seeded teams to advance to the title game for the first time.
The game was played cautiously by both sides, with defense and possession the priority. The teams set a championship-game record for fewest combined goals through three quarters (eight) and tied the mark for fewest at halftime (five).
Notre Dame went up 5-4 with 11:56 by converting a rare fastbreak. David Earl picked up a loose ball and ran 30 yards before passing across the field to Sean Rogers, who pumped a shot past goaltender Dan Wigrizer.
Justin Turri scored for the Blue Devils with 8:44 left to tie the game for the last time.
Duke led 3-2 at halftime after scoring the lone goal of the second quarter.
The Blue Devils took 13 shots, including nine on goal, but Rodgers had six saves and Duke committed five turnovers.
It took only 49 seconds for Notre Dame to go up 1-0 on a goal by Brenneman. Then, after Duke used goals by Zach Howell and Steve Schoeffel to take the lead, Brenneman scored again with 50 seconds left during a first quarter in which both teams worked the ball for several minutes at a time.
That only served as a precursor for a dreary second quarter in which the only goal came on a shot by Schoeffel with 1:24 left.
Early in the third quarter, Earl provided hope for a more offense-oriented game. With a Duke defender on his back, he scored with a low shot while being knocked from his feat. The goal ended Notre Dame’s 17-minute scoring drought.
Howell put the Blue Devils back in front, and Brenneman’s third goal tied it at 4 with 1:12 left in the quarter.