NCAA Lacrosse Championship 2023: Notre Dame Beats Duke to Win School's 1st Title

The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team has come close to winning national championships in the past, reaching the title game twice before the 2023 season.

On Monday, the Fighting Irish finally broke through.

Led by two goals apiece from Eric Dobson, Quinn McCahon, Jake Taylor and Chris Kavanagh, Notre Dame beat its ACC rival Duke, 13-9, to win the national championship.

Liam Entenmann was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

It was a crowning achievement for Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan, now in his 35th season at the helm.

"It's been fantastic," he said on the ESPN broadcast after the win. "I've said it all along, this group has been so much fun to work with, so easy to work with. I've loved every minute of it. I really have."

"It's not about 35 years," he added. "It's about this right here. It's about these guys."

The first half was all Notre Dame. After Garrett Leadmon opened the scoring for the Blue Devils, the Fighting Irish responded with six straight goals to go into the half with a commanding lead.

Duke cut the deficit to just 9-7 after three quarters, only to see Notre Dame pull away in the final frame to earn the victory.

While Duke came into the game as the No. 1 seed and ACC champion, this wasn't exactly a shocking upset. The three-time national champions already lost to Notre Dame—itself the No. 3 overall seed—in the regular season, 17-12.

And so the long wait is over for Corrigan and the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame finally has its national championship.