Zach Howell

MEN No. 5 Duke (13-5) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (11-2) Sunday, 2:30 In the span of less than a full calendar year, these two non-conference foes meet for the third time. Notre Dame won in the regular season, 11-7, on Feb. 25, but Duke got the more significant victory — a 6-5 decision in last year's NCAA tournament championship final. Seven Blue Devils — led by senior attackman Zach Howell's 41 goals and 16 assists — have registered at least 20 points this season.

PROJECTED NCAA SEEDS 1. Duke Atlantic Coast Conference Last season: 14-6, NCAA semifinalist Coach: John Danowski (sixth season, 80-19; 30th season overall, 299-158) Top returning scorer Jordan Wolf, sophomore A (31 goals, 20 assists) Other key returnees Christian Walsh , sophomore A (21, 13) David Lawson, junior M (23, 9) C.J. Costabile, senior LSM (4, 5; 95 ground balls, 23 caused turnovers)

MEN No. 1 Syracuse (7-0) vs. No. 4 Duke (8-2) Sunday, 7 Outlook: The top-ranked Orange owns a 5-1 advantage in the series, but this is the first regular-season meeting since March28, 1992. Senior defenseman John Lade, who has shut down some of the top attackmen thus far, could shadow Blue Devils senior attackman Zach Howell. Duke freshman attackman Jordan Wolf has 18 goals and eight assists in his past six games. — Edward Lee WOMEN No. 3 Duke (9-1)

There will be a new men's lacrosse champion this year, and Maryland is eager to fill that role. The unseeded Terps took another step toward that possibility by defeating fifth-seeded and Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke, 9-4, in their NCAA tournament semifinal at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday night. An announced 45,039 -- the sixth-best attendance for the semifinals -- witnessed Maryland (13-4) hit, poke and check the Blue Devils while applying a stranglehold on an offense that had entered the contest as the fifth-most prolific unit in the country.

Johns Hopkins couldn't keep up with Max Quinzani, Ned Crotty and fifth seed Duke, falling, 18-5, in the first round of the Division I tournament Saturday. Quinzani scored four goals and Crotty added two goals and six assists as the Blue Devils (13-4) used a 12-0 run to pull away from the Blue Jays (7-8). Duke moves on to next week's quarterfinals, where it will face the winner of the first round game between North Carolina and Delaware. After falling behind 5-2 late in the first quarter, the Blue Jays got two goals from Tom Palasek sandwiched around a score from the Blue Devils' Robert Rotanz to make the score 6-4 with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.

The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team took an early four-goal lead and never looked back, defeating visiting Pennsylvania, 13-6, in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament on Saturday. Notre Dame advances to play Duke in next weekend's quarterfinal round in Foxboro, Mass. The No. 4 Fighting Irish (11-2) outshot the Quakers, 41-24, and won 17 of the game's 23 faceoffs to keep possession most of the day. Only a standout performance by freshman goalie Brian Feeney kept No. 17 Penn (8-7)

DURHAM, N.C. — Juking and twisting, avoiding stick checks and shoves, attackmen for the Duke men's lacrosse team were unstoppable Saturday afternoon. Scoring in droves, they led the Blue Devils to an 18-5 win over Johns Hopkins at Koskinen Stadium, securing their first NCAA tournament victory over the vaunted Blue Jays program since 1997. The No. 5 seeded Devils (13-4) advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they await the winner of today's game between No. 4 seed North Carolina and Delaware.

The festivities are set for Saturday's NCAA Division I men's lacrosse semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium. But as far as which of the four teams — No. 5 seed Duke, No. 6 Denver, No. 7 Virginia and unseeded Maryland — is the front-runner to capture the national title, it's anybody's guess. "It's so even, and I don't remember a final four where anyone can really win," ESPN analyst and former Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra said Thursday. "There was always that team that had a nice run but was never really a threat to win it all, and we have four teams here that, honestly, I'd be lying to you if I told you that I think I know who's going to win this national championship.

Duke coach John Danowski liked the warm and fuzzy feeling that surrounded his program after the Blue Devils won a national championship last May, but no one on his staff got a free membership to a nearby health club, and there weren't any pay raises. Maybe Danowski might get one now. In a supposed transition season because the Blue Devils lost nearly a third of last year's team to graduation, Duke (8-2) is ranked No. 4 after having won seven straight and is in position to knock off unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Syracuse (7-0)

Maryland's annual end-of-the-season collapse almost came in March. Almost. But Terps junior attackman Grant Catalino scored with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the four-minute, sudden-death overtime to halt a valiant comeback attempt by Duke, as No. 7 Maryland defeated the No. 6 Blue Devils, 11-10, in the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday. Duke rallied with three goals in the last 4:22 of regulation to send the game into overtime, thanks largely to some lazy passes by Maryland, particularly Catalino, whose lob pass contributed to Will McKee's game-tying goal with 13 seconds remaining.

The festivities are set for Saturday's NCAA Division I men's lacrosse semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium. But as far as which of the four teams — No. 5 seed Duke, No. 6 Denver, No. 7 Virginia and unseeded Maryland — is the front-runner to capture the national title, it's anybody's guess. "It's so even, and I don't remember a final four where anyone can really win," ESPN analyst and former Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra said Thursday. "There was always that team that had a nice run but was never really a threat to win it all, and we have four teams here that, honestly, I'd be lying to you if I told you that I think I know who's going to win this national championship.

On Monday — the first day of the week of preparation for the Final Four for the Duke men's lacrosse team — coach John Danowski announced after dinner that he was buying tickets for the entire team to see the latest installment of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Not many coaches whose team is the reigning national champion would open the week leading up to an NCAA tournament semifinal against Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in such fashion, but Danowski is anything but usual as a lacrosse coach.

MEN No. 5 Duke (13-5) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (11-2) Sunday, 2:30 In the span of less than a full calendar year, these two non-conference foes meet for the third time. Notre Dame won in the regular season, 11-7, on Feb. 25, but Duke got the more significant victory — a 6-5 decision in last year's NCAA tournament championship final. Seven Blue Devils — led by senior attackman Zach Howell's 41 goals and 16 assists — have registered at least 20 points this season.

The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team took an early four-goal lead and never looked back, defeating visiting Pennsylvania, 13-6, in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament on Saturday. Notre Dame advances to play Duke in next weekend's quarterfinal round in Foxboro, Mass. The No. 4 Fighting Irish (11-2) outshot the Quakers, 41-24, and won 17 of the game's 23 faceoffs to keep possession most of the day. Only a standout performance by freshman goalie Brian Feeney kept No. 17 Penn (8-7)

Ryan Young had certainly been through a tough time heading into Sunday's Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse tournament. The Maryland senior attackman and his twin brother, Kevin, who plays midfield for Duke, endured the death of their mother, Maria, from pancreatic cancer the previous weekend. On Sunday, they had to face each other in the title game at Koskinen Stadium. Ryan Young helped Maryland end its ACC title drought, scoring the winning goal on a pass from sophomore midfielder John Haus with 12:08 to play in an 11-9 victory.

Duke coach John Danowski liked the warm and fuzzy feeling that surrounded his program after the Blue Devils won a national championship last May, but no one on his staff got a free membership to a nearby health club, and there weren't any pay raises. Maybe Danowski might get one now. In a supposed transition season because the Blue Devils lost nearly a third of last year's team to graduation, Duke (8-2) is ranked No. 4 after having won seven straight and is in position to knock off unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Syracuse (7-0)