Amid gray skies and purple stands, Northwestern took down the Carolina blue.In a rematch of last year’s championship game, Northwestern flipped the script and closed out North Carolina in Sunday’s 14-11 victory in Evanston, Ill. It was Northwestern’s fourth straight trip to the women’s lacrosse national title game. This time, the Wildcats won on their home turf, something that hasn’t been done since Maryland did it in 1986.“I had doubts that we were going to make the NCAA Tournament in the beginning of the season, and this group is really, really special,” Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said postgame. “… This team is so resilient, and they never stopped believing.”
Ready to roar 😈🌊 pic.twitter.com/SdaWSlof3S
— Northwestern Lacrosse (@NULax) May 24, 2026After dishing six assists, Northwestern star Madison Taylor scored her only goal of the game with a minute remaining to solidify the win. The Wildcats outscored the Tar Heels 5-0 in the fourth quarter for their second win over Carolina this year — and Carolina’s second loss all season. Before Sunday, the Wildcats (19-3) won a 17-16 squeaker on March 25 in Chapel Hill.After UNC’s 16-6 rout of Maryland in the semifinals, Carolina star Chloe Humphrey said playing Northwestern on its home turf was “added motivation.”But both Humphrey and Taylor — two of the five Tewaaraton Award finalists, colloquially referred to as “Lacrosse’s Heisman” — were contained in the first half. Humphrey scored her and UNC’s first goal on a power play roughly seven minutes into play, but she didn’t score again until the end of the third quarter.
