By Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY  BALTIMORE  Duke coach John Danowski insists that winning isn't the most important part of his job.  But he acknowledged that for everybody associated with the Blue Devils men's lacrosse program, particularly over the last five years, finally bringing home the title after Sunday's 6-5 overtime victory against Notre Dame before a crowd of 37,126 at M&T Bank Stadium was special.  Danowski, in his fourth year at Duke, took charge of the program following the now infamous 2006 season, which was cut short by the university in the wake of rape allegations that were later proved false.  "There was so much emotion those first two years. People have no idea," said Danowski, whose son, Matt, was a player on the team when he accepted the position. "This has been an emotional time, but a very cool time as well. I'm happy for our guys and for everybody who ever wore a Duke lacrosse jersey."  The Blue Devils nearly claimed the title a season later but came up a goal short against Johns Hopkins. But the NCAA restored a season of eligibility to all the members of the 2006 squad. The last seven fifth-year seniors from that team concluded their careers with the championship. Included in that group is Ned Crotty, a finalist for the NCAA's most outstanding player award, who was limited to a single assist in the final.  "This is awesome, but I told these guys the other night that this game isn't going to be the defining moment in your life," Danowski said. "I'm smart enough to know that if that face-off goes the other way, we might've been on the other side of this one. I've been on that side of things as well."  The championship game itself featured plenty of late drama but little in the way of fireworks.  Played at a snail's pace at times, it was the lowest scoring final in NCAA history — the previous record was North Carolina's 7-5 win vs. Johns Hopkins in 1982. But its sudden death end in only five seconds is the shortest title-game overtime.  Sophomore long-stick midfielder C.J. Costabile, winner of five of his nine face-offs in regulation, got the call for the opening draw in overtime.  On a day when most face-offs were battles and some resulted in scrums that lasted for 20 seconds or longer, Costabile won this one cleanly and broke for the cage.  "They were real tight on the attackmen, so I saw my lane and took it. As for whether to shoot high or low, I couldn't really tell you. I just let it rip, and I saw the net move," Costabile said of his fourth goal of the season.  "For C.J. to make a play like he did in overtime certainly made it a lot easier for the rest of us," Danowski said.  Fighting Irish standout senior goalie Scott Rodgers, who had been spectacular throughout the tournament, said he didn't know what he was looking for, "because he's got a six-foot pole in his hand."  "That's the kind of shot you don't want to see if you're a goalie."  Rodgers made 31 saves during championship weekend — 15 in the final. His defensemen, most notably all-tournament pick Kevin Ridgway, held Duke's big guns, Crotty and Max Quinzani, to an assist each. Zach Howell led fifth-seeded Duke (16-4) with two goals and an assist.  Zach Brenneman scored three goals for unseeded Notre Dame (10-7).  Unfortunately for the Irish, their own shooters had a bad day. The team took 31 shots and put only 10 on cage.  "We thought we could win a game playing like this, but we came up one play short," said Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan.  You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.
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.