Upcoming Event: Men's Lacrosse versus #1 Notre Dame on April 18, 2026 at 12 p.m.
Men's Lacrosse
vs #1 Notre Dame
Duke Earns No. 3 Seed In NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament
5/3/2009 9:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke men's lacrosse team has received the number three overall seed for the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will host Navy on Saturday, May 9 at Koskinen Stadium. Face-off is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students/seniors, and can be purchased online at GoDuke.com(click here) or by calling the Duke Athletic Ticket Office at 1-877-375-DUKE(3853). Gates open 90 minutes prior to the start of the game. Will Call will be located off of Frank Bassett Drive.
The third-ranked Blue Devils, winners of seven in a row and owners of a 13-3 overall record, will make their 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Duke made previous trips to the postseason in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008 and owns an all-time tournament record of 14-12. The Blue Devils have reached the national semifinals four times (1997, 2005, 2007 & 2008) and advanced to the championship game in both 2005 and 2007. Duke enters the 2009 postseason having won eight of its last 11 national tournament games.
The number three seed is the first for the Blue Devils, who served as the number one seed in each of the past two national tournaments. Duke also received top-eight seeds in 1994 (8), 1995 (5), 1997 (5), 1998 (7), 1999 (4), 2000 (7), 2002 (7) and 2005 (2). All-time by round, the Blue Devils are 8-3 in first round action, 4-5 in quarterfinal play, 2-2 in semifinals and 0-2 in national championship games.
Prior to their 20-7 road victory over St. John's earlier today, the Blue Devils won their third consecutive ACC Tournament championship with wins over Virginia and North Carolina last weekend in Chapel Hill. The 2009 campaign marks the fifth season that Duke has posted 13 or more regular season victories (16 in 2008, 14 in both 2005 & 2007 and 13 in both 1999 & 2009).
"The past two years have been a lot of fun, but I think this year has been the most enjoyable just because we've come so far and worked so hard for what we've earned," said Duke senior captain Ned Crotty. "In years past we've worked hard, but it kind of came a little easier, so this year has been a lot more fun."
Crotty spearheads the Duke offense from his attack position, and the New Vernon, N.J., native leads the nation in total points (65) and assists (45). Of note, Duke head coach John Danowski has mentored the nation's leading scorer in each of the past three seasons with Chris Unterstein and Athan Iannucci (80 points apiece at Hofstra in 2006) and Matt Danowski (96 points at Duke in 2007 & 97 points at Duke in 2008). Crotty was joined on the 2009 All-ACC team by fellow attackman Max Quinzani, who leads the Blue Devils and ranks seventh in the nation in goals scored with 39. The Duke defense, which features starting defensemen Mike Manley, Ryan McFadyen and Parker McKee along with goalkeeper Rob Schroeder, allows 7.9 goals per game to rank 13th-best in the country.
Navy, owner of an 11-4 overall record, earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by capturing the Patriot League Tournament championship. The Midshipmen defeated both Colgate and Bucknell by a 9-8 count as goalkeeper Tommy Phelan earned conference tournament MVP honors. While making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Navy ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense by allowing just 7.3 goals per outing. Brendan Connors (21 goals & 10 assists) and Tim Paul (18 goals & 13 assists) pace the Mids in scoring with 31 points each.
Virginia earned the number one seed, followed by Syracuse (2), Duke (3), Princeton (4), Cornell (5), North Carolina (6), Notre Dame (7) and Johns Hopkins (8).
2009 NCAA Tournament
First Round -- Saturday, May 9
Brown at (8) Johns Hopkins, 12 noon
UMBC at (6) North Carolina, 2:30 pm
Hofstra at (5) Cornell, 5 pm
Navy at (3) Duke, 7:30 pm
First Round -- Sunday, May 10
Maryland at (7) Notre Dame, 12 noon
Villanova at (1) Virginia, 2:30 pm
Massachusetts at (4) Princeton, 5 pm
Siena at (2) Syracuse, 7:30 pm
Quarterfinals -- Saturday, May 16 at Hempstead, N.Y.
Massachusetts/Princeton winner vs. Hofstra/Cornell winner
Maryland/Notre Dame winner vs. Siena/Syracuse winner
Quarterfinals -- Sunday, May 17 at Annapolis, Md.
Brown/Johns Hopkins winner vs. Villanova/Virginia winner
Navy/Duke winner vs. UMBC/North Carolina winner
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's LacrosseD
/ Men's LacrosseD
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseG
/ Men's LacrosseAidan Maguire First Overall Pick in the PLL 2026 Draft
Thursday, April 16
Duke Edges Denver 8-7 Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, April 08
Duke Men's Lacrosse: Excellence on and off the field defined
Friday, August 29
Duke Men's Lacrosse Recruiting Video
Friday, August 29
