FOXBORO, Mass. – Yale captured its first NCAA men’s lacrosse championship with a 13-11 victory over Duke before a crowd of 29,455 fans at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
The Bulldogs received four goals from Most Outstanding Player Matt Gaudet and never trailed in the contest, ending the season with a 17-3 ledger. Duke finishes at 16-4.
Yale scored the first three goals of the day with Jack Tigh netting a pair. Kevin Quigley got Duke on the scoreboard at the 3:26 mark of the opening quarter to send the teams into the first break with the Bulldogs ahead, 3-1.
In the second period, the Blue Devils would use a Brad Smith tally to pull within 4-3 with 7:35 on the clock, but Yale responded by scoring two of the quarter’s last three goals to lead, 6-4, at halftime.
Out of the locker room, Yale quickly extended its lead to five with three straight scores. Duke rallied with a 4-1 spurt to pull within 10-8 on Quigley’s goal with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Yale’s Matt Gaudet scored to push the lead to 13-9 before Joe Robertson pulled Duke within three goals at the 3:49 mark. Peter Conley’s man-advantage marker at the 3:13 mark made the score 13-11, but Duke could not get any closer.
The Blue Devils received two-goal, one-assist performances from both Justin Guterding and Joey Manown. Guterding concludes his remarkable career with an NCAA all-time record of 212 goals and 351 points.
