Penn State Falls to Duke on Controversial Goal at NCAA Lacrosse Championships

Duke's game-winning goal should not have counted, but the play was not reviewable.

Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports

Penn State helped usher in the era of video replay in college football 20 years ago. Now, the Nittany Lions might nudge the NCAA to expand the use of instant replay in lacrosse.

Penn State on Saturday lost to Duke 16-15 following a controversial overtime ending to their NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships semifinal. Duke's Garrett Leadmon stepped into the crease circling the net while scoring the sudden-victory goal, which should not have counted. However, the officials ruled the play a goal, and the NCAA does not consider the play reviewable per its replay rules. 

Thus, top-seeded Duke advanced to the NCAA championship game against third-seeded Notre Dame on Memorial Day at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. And fifth-seeded Penn State ended a phenomenal season wondering what a video review might have produced.

The final play… pic.twitter.com/OPGG1g1fDF

— Inside Lacrosse (@Inside_Lacrosse) May 27, 2023

The NCAA allows for some video replays in college lacrosse, according to Inside Lacrosse. Specifically, during the national tournament's quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds, officials can review the game clock, whether a shot is released prior to a shot clock expiring and whether a shot deflects off another player before hitting the net. However, a crease violation is not reviewable.

The @NCAALAX sent this out to media attending the championship, RE: video review policy with the attached message: "The play at the end of the Duke Penn State game was not reviewable under the current rules." pic.twitter.com/jJhcp3C2TR

— Matt Kinnear (@mattkinnear) May 27, 2023

The play could have been challenged in a women's game. Last year, the NCAA announced an experimental video review program for the 2022-23 women's lacrosse season that included determining "whether the player shooting has stepped on or into the goal circle." During the ESPN broadcast, analysts said the finish detracted from a thrilling semifinal game between Penn State and Duke.

"Controversy will certainly linger from the end of this," ESPN play-by-play announcer Anish Shroff said on the broadcast. "You don’t want that for this sport on this stage, when you have great lacrosse defined by a play like we saw end this game that can’t be reviewed. It's something the rules committee needs to look at in the offseason."

ESPN's Bill Tierney, a former coach at Princeton and Denver, said Penn State played a game "maybe none of us expected" and called for replay to be addressed.

"Our game has got to catch up," Tierney said on the post-game broadcast. "That’s a big-time play and a big-time loss. Obviously Duke gets to move on, but Penn State, which played an amazing game, has to suffer with this for the rest of their lives really."

Fellow analyst Matt Ward noted another controversial play in NCAA tournament history. In the 2019 quarterfinals, Virginia defeated Maryland 13-12 in overtime, tying the game late on a shot that appeared to hit the crossbar but was ruled a goal.

"You have to review a play that ends a game," Ward said on ESPN's post-game show. "You have to at least have that right. ... It's time. It takes away from an amazing game. How, if you're a Penn State player, do you ever get over that?"

Immediately after the game, Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni said he had not seen a replay and had "no idea if it was a right call or a wrong call." But Tambroni did address the need for expanded replay.

"There should definitely be a review," Tambroni told reporters at Lincoln Financial Field. "At what point and at what level we implement that, I hope it does go in there at some point. There are plenty of calls missed throughout the course of a lacrosse game. With three extremely capable officials trying to cover 100 yards, it's bound to happen. It certainly was not a malicious call.

"I haven't even seen it, to be honest with you, so I have no idea if it was a right call or a wrong call. It was a call. I think probably the latter of that, yes, there should be [a replay review], especially at a game like this, on that stage. It's available. But at the same time, I recognize that it's not a part of our game, and we understand that we've got to live with the result and just move on."

Asked after the game whether he wanted the game-ending play to be reviewable, Duke coach John Danowski said, "Not today."

Added Leadmon, "I saw the referee put his hands up in the air, and I figured we won the game. And that's the end of that."

Penn State concluded its season at 11-5, having reached the NCAA semifinals for the second time in school history. And now the Lions could be on the vanguard of initiating replay protocols in another sport.

Twenty years ago, the Big Ten announced plans for experimental video replay review in football after Penn State called for a "comprehensive review" of conference officiating. The Big Ten expanded replay across all conference games in 2004, and the NCAA approved replay throughout college football in 2006.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.