NCAA Lacrosse Championship 2023: Duke vs. Notre Dame Schedule, Preview

The 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship is set, and it is a battle between familiar foes.

No. 1 Duke will face No. 3 Notre Dame in an all-ACC matchup for glory in Philadelphia.

The Fighting Irish handed Duke a 17-12 loss on April 8 and this will be the third time these teams will meet for a national title.

Both teams needed overtime to get to this point.

Penn State played the Blue Devils tight in the first game, but Garrett Leadmon called game in the extra quarter.

The goal did not come without controversy, as it appears that Leadmon had his foot in the crease when he scored the goal. However, the play was non-reviewable, so the Blue Devils are championship-bound.

Their opponent, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, are no pushover. They defeated the only team to beat them all season, No. 2 Virginia, and had to complete a late comeback to do it.

It was Brian Tevlin who scored this golden goal, and the Yale transfer solidified his legacy in South Bend.

Duke owns a 16-13 advantage in the overall series between the two teams.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2023 National Championship Game.

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Where: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

When: Monday at 1 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

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Men's Final Four Scores

(1) Duke def. (5) Penn State 16-15

(3) Notre Dame def. (2) Virginia 13-12

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Duke's Road to the Championship Game

The Blue Devils hovered around the top ranking for much of the season, eventually earning the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Before that, a 13-2 regular season and an ACC Championship showcase just how dominant this unit can be.

That doesn't mean that Duke was routing every team on its schedule, actually it's far from it. The Blue Devils took two games in overtime during with regular season, with numerous one, two and three-goal margins of victory.

In the tournament, the ride hasn't been extremely smooth. They were nearly upset in the opening round by the Delaware Blue Hens, but a second half surge gave them a 12-11 victory. A balanced scoring attack brought them to victory over Big Ten Champion Michigan, and then the controversial overtime heroics over Penn State solidified a spot in the National Championship Game.

Duke is outscoring opponents 273-194 this season and average 45.6 shots per game. Brennan O'Neill and Dyson Williams carry a heavy load in the scoring department, contributing 54 and 59 goals respectively. The Blue Devils have the fifth-ranked scoring offense nationally.

Duke has won three national championships in program history, with the most recent coming in 2014. They were finalists in 2018 and reached the Final Four in 2021.

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Notre Dame's Road to the Championship Game

A 10-2 regular season saw the Fighting Irish fall to the Cavaliers twice but earn several key victories and the No.3 overall seed. When they were victorious, they tended to win big, with only one regular season game requiring extra time.

They cruised to a 20-7 victory over ASUN Champion Utah, and held off Johns Hopkins 12-9 in the quarterfinal. This advanced Notre Dame to it's third contest against Virginia, where they proved that the third time is the charm.

Chris Kavanagh carried a large amount of the scoring load for the offense, and his brother Pat led the team in points. They had the third-ranked scoring offense and fifth-ranked scoring defense in the country.

The Fighting Irish are a two-time finalist in the national title game and are searching for the first championship in program history.

Prediction: Notre Dame def. Duke 14-13