CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — While teammates Ryder Garnsey and Bryan Costabile — who Friday night combined for eight goals in Notre Dame’s 14-11 upset of Duke in the ACC men’s lacrosse tournament semifinals — stood in front of TV cameras and answered reporters’ questions, sophomore defender Jack Kielty quietly exited they field at Virginia’s Klöckner Stadium.
His teammates, though, weren’t going to let the world forget the play that might have kept the Fighting Irish (7-5) NCAA tournament hopes alive.
Duke (12-3) had taken the lead for the first time, 10-9 with 9:22 remaining, as Blue Devils sophomore Reilly Walsh scored his third goal of the night. The Blue Devils had the momentum and were winning faceoffs. They had the ball, looking to extend the lead, when Brad Smith fired a shot wide of the cage. Out of nowhere Kielty raced toward the end line and dove headfirst, stealing what looked like an easy backup and getting the ball back for the Irish, who scored the next four goals.
Costabile, who finished with a hat trick, had the fancy shots. Garnsey scored five goals, including the two that put Notre Dame up for good. But Kielty may have made the biggest play of the night.
“That was just an incredible hustle play,” Costabile said. “That was exactly what we needed. We needed an offensive possession badly. He put that little spark in us and I knew the offense would capitalize when it happened.”
.@NDlacrosse picks up a HUGE victory and advances to @theACC final! Garnsey (5G) with two late goals to pull Irish ahead for the 14-11 win over @DukeMLAX. pic.twitter.com/JXOzrWHlNT
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) April 28, 2018
It didn’t take long at all for the Irish to do so. Garnsey assisted Mikey Wynne on a goal with 7:44 remaining, then followed it up with back-to-back goals of his own as Notre Dame seized control back and never relented.
“When every possession matters and a guy sells out like that to get the ball back for you, that’s huge,” Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. “That’s not lost on anybody on our team.”
The Blue Devils came in seeded second in the ACC tournament and ranked No. 1 in the nation in some polls, including the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, but it was the 15th-ranked Irish that got off to a hot start. Notre Dame opened the second quarter with three straight goals, including an incredible over-the-shoulder low angle shot from sophomore middie Costabile that made it a 5-1 Fighting Irish lead with nine minutes left in the first half.
But, true to form, the Blue Devils weren’t going to just go away. Duke went on a run to close out the second period, with freshman Joe Robertson, back in his hometown, getting a pair of goals in the final minute of the half to make it a 6-4 Irish lead at the break.
Smith added back-to-back goals for Duke early in the second half as the Blue Devils battled all the way back to make it a 7-all tie in the middle of the third quarter. But Notre Dame took the lead back in the final second of the third when Costabile cut to the middle, drawing the defense, then flipped a pass to Brendan Gleason right in front of the crease for a goal.
“They made plays and we didn’t, it was that simple,” said Duke goalie Danny Fowler, who had eight saves. “They did everything we thought they were going to do, but they executed and we didn’t.”
From there it was back-and-forth in the final quarter until Garnsey scored twice in two minutes to put the Irish back ahead 12-10 with less than three minutes to go.
Duke is comfortably in the field for the NCAA tournament, but the Irish, finally playing with a healthy lineup that includes both Costabile and Garnsey, are approaching Sunday’s conference final like a must-win.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Garnsey said. “Regardless of if our NCAA tournament lives are on the line, it’s the ACC championship and that makes it a huge game. It will be a high-intensity game, but we are looking forward to it.”