Hopkins tops Duke for NCAA lacrosse crown

Baltimore -- Goalie Jesse Schwartzman blocked a shot with seven seconds left Monday as John Hopkins beat top-seeded Duke, 12-11, to win the NCAA lacrosse championship.

The last of Schwartzman's 15 saves enabled the third-seeded Blue Jays to win their second NCAA Division I championship in the past three seasons, and the ninth in school history.

Duke, which lost to Hopkins in the 2005 title game, was not in contention in 2006 after three of the Blue Devils' players were falsely accused of rape.

Because of the rape charges, which were subsequently dismissed, Duke was the crowd favorite Monday -- which in turned motivated the Blue Jays.

"We were the forgotten sons. We used it as motivation," said Hopkins junior midfielder Stephen Peyser, who scored two goals, added an assist, and won nine of 14 face-offs.

Hopkins (13-4) won its ninth straight game and became the first team with four losses to win the national title since Virginia in 1972.

Duke, which tied the score at 11-11 with 4:37 left to play, wound up 17-3.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.