HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Duke coach John Danowski is not fond of comparisons, and certainly has no interest in placing undue weight on his program based on its stellar pedigree during his 13-year run with the Blue Devils.

Still, there’s an inescapable reality for every collection of players to pass through the program. Reasonable or not, Duke will be measured in some way by its showing in May.

And yet again, the Blue Devils are headed for the last weekend of the season after edging Notre Dame 14-13 in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals before 8,017 at Shuart Stadium.

Joe Robertson scored the game-winner with 2:33 left in overtime for second-seeded Duke, which will face third-seeded Virginia on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“I think it’s just an increased focus,” said attackman CJ Carpenter, who had three goals and an assist. “We wanted so badly to be back where we were last year. I think the last couple weeks we’ve been able to flip a switch, as if it’s, ‘OK, it’s go time. Let’s do this.’”

Robertson finished with three goals and Nakeie Montgomery had a goal and four assists for the Blue Devils (13-4), who will play in the semifinals for the second year in a row and the 10th time in the last 13 seasons.

Ryder Garnsey scored four goals and added two assists for the seventh-seeded Irish (9-7), who lost an NCAA tournament game to Duke for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons. But they also erased an early 4-0 deficit when the Blue Devils threatened to turn things into a rout in a hurry.

“We’ve had ups and downs throughout the entire season,” junior midfielder Bryan Costabile said. “We’ve lost to teams we probably shouldn’t have. We beat teams that maybe were better than us. Who knows? We’ve always just fought each and every day. … I was never worried in the least amount when we were down four that everyone around here was going to pick us up.”

Notre Dame would tie it at 4, establishing a back-and-forth pattern that would carry for much of the day. Duke went up 7-4, before Notre Dame scored three in a row. The Blue Devils’ 11-8 lead eventually turned into a 12-11 deficit.

The game seemed well on its way to a taut finish when Duke freshman long pole Wilson Stephenson suffered a leg injury with 11:56 to play to provide an unpleasant pause to the proceedings. Blue Devil goalie Turner Uppgren immediately called for medical assistance after Stephenson fell to the turf.

“Coach [John Danowski] brought us real quick and said, ‘Let’s turn this around, and let’s do it for Willy,’” Carpenter said. “Coach Matt [Danowski] said, ‘Willy would want us playing for him. He doesn’t want us thinking about him. He wants us winning this game.’”

Duke would score back-to-back goals to make it 13-12, but the Irish’s Brian Willett tied it with 1:24 remaining. Notre Dame burned two timeouts on the next possession, but its last chance to win it in regulation — with the ball in Garnsey’s stick — was foiled by a Duke double team.

“Disappointed that we had the ball at the end of [regulation] and we couldn’t find a way to put one in. With two timeouts, you would have liked to have thought we could find a way,” Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. “But they’re a very good team. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

The Blue Devils took the opening faceoff of overtime thanks to a Cade Van Raaphorst ground ball and got a couple looks during the ensuing possession. But with six seconds left on the shot clock, it appeared Notre Dame might force a shot clock violation.

Instead, Carpenter passed it to Robertson, who came around the cage and zipped one past Matt Schmidt (11 saves) for the winner.

“I realized they put the short stick on me and the left side of the field was pretty clear, so I called for it,” Robertson said. “I ran as hard as I could to my left, shot the ball with my left hand, something we pride ourselves on here is that we can do it with both hands.”

It marked the third time in four years Notre Dame fell in the quarterfinals, and it was an unwelcome reminder of what a nemesis Duke was for it in the postseason earlier this decade. The teams met four times in the NCAA tournament between 2010 and 2014, with Duke winning them all — including in the national title game in 2010 and 2014.

Three of the five postseason meetings since 2010 have been decided by a goal, including two in overtime.

“Today [it was] one play; 2010, one play,” Corrigan said. “You either make that play or you don’t. It wasn’t for lack of want. Our guys did a great job of hanging in. It wasn’t an easy day. It was kind of uphill for most of the day. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

Duke did. From Van Raaphorst’s ground ball to Robertson’s savvy move to finish the game, overtime unfolded in fundamental fashion for the Blue Devils.

“This was one of the most fun games I think I ever played in,” Van Raaphorst said. “Obviously, when they go on runs, you want to stop them, but I couldn’t keep a smile off my face the whole time.”

A happy Duke locker room is a quarterfinal tradition, one Danowski is unlikely to talk up at any point in the year. It was understandable this year, since the Blue Devils haven’t exactly dominated down the stretch. Their three games prior to this one were an overtime defeat of Marquette, a two-goal loss to Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals and a 12-11 victory over Richmond in the first round.

And yet, Danowski’s team plays on.

“One of the things that’s difficult sometimes at Duke is the comparisons to other teams or things that have gone on in the past, and it’s not fair,” Danowski said. “They’re their own men, this is their own group, their own chemistry, their own team dynamic. Right now, they’re finding their way.”

The path has led Duke back in the semifinals, back to where the Blue Devils’ players believe they belong even as they forge their own path in search a fourth national title to bookend the decade, back to a point where the most welcome comparison of all is not too far away.