This week in Duke history: Duke men's soccer loses 1982 national title in eight overtimes

The sudden-death penalty kick—well-known, well-feared and certainly dramatic.

But it didn’t always used to be an option in college soccer, even in championships. That meant that when Duke played Indiana in the 1982 national championship Dec. 11, and the game was still tied after regulation, there was no stopping until a golden goal.

Indiana eventually found it—in the eighth overtime. After 160 minutes of play—with two 15-minute periods, four five-minute periods and two 10-minute periods of overtime—the Hoosiers knocked off the Blue Devils 2-1 for the title.

Duke, led by head coach John Rennie, returned the following season with one of the best squads in the country, but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Alabama A&M. The Blue Devils finally won the 1986 national championship three years later for the school’s first national title in any sport.

Soccer is not the only sport that has changed its rules. In fact, football has also shifted its rules to emphasize the sudden-death ending. On Nov. 22, 1975, Duke and North Carolina played to a 17-17 draw, one of 31 ties in Duke football history, presumably raising questions about the fate of the Victory Bell.

The NCAA added the penalty-kick shootout to settle ties in tournament play in 2002, and it also eliminated ties in football by instituting an overtime format before the 1996 season.

Somewhere along the way, from 1996 to 1999, Major League Soccer added these funky penalty kicks, which for better or worse were quickly abandoned and have not been revived since.