Westford Residents Key in Duke's National Title

The Duke University men's lacrosse team won its second ever national championship on Monday thanks to a 16-10 comeback victory over Syracuse. And right at the center of the celebration, and the Blue Devil attack, was a familiar face.

Westford resident David Lawson was among the critical players who led Duke to the title tilt, scoring a pair of goals in the final.

Lawson was the team's third-highest point scorer on the season, and he notched five goals and the game-winner in an earlier win over Notre Dame that clinched the team its spot in the Final Four.

On Monday, it took a comeback effort from the Blue Devils after Syracuse pounced to an early lead.

"We were down 5-0 and we really had no choice, we had to make the next play, and that's who we are, we responded," said Duke head coach John Danowski, according to ESPN.com. "We got in their grills a little bit, we told them they had to play a little tougher and a little harder than they were playing. We slowed our slide down, and start to slow things down on offense."

The Westford resident and Duke senior midfielder had 51 points entering Monday's contest, including 34 goals and 17 assists.

According to the Duke men's lacrosse website, Lawson was a four-year player at Concord's Middlesex School before he was recruited by the Blue Devils. Though Lawson played right away at Duke, he didn't begin to make a major impact until his sophomore year.

During that campaign he notched 23 goals and followed that up with 14 more tallies as a junior.

But Lawson's senior season was his best individually, and as a team as he finished with a national championship win.