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, 2026

After 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.

Humphrey, the nation’s leading scorer, finished with two assists and two goals, tying Taylor’s single-season record of 109 goals set last year.

109 GOALS FOR CHLOE HUMPHREY 🔥

She ties Madison Taylor for the most single-season goals in D-I history 👀 pic.twitter.com/JZEAqT93s6

— espnW (@espnW) May 24, 2026

Minutes after coming out of halftime knotted at six, Humphrey assisted Eva Ingrilli for UNC’s first lead of the day, only for Taylor to assist Gabriella McCollester for the tie 18 seconds later.

The freshman McCollester had a breakout game, pacing the team with four goals.

McCollester was subbed in after Northwestern senior attacker Lucy Munro went down with a non-contact injury in the first quarter. Munro was assisted off the field by two trainers before being escorted into the medical tent. The rainy conditions in Evanston before the start of the game created slick on-field conditions.

“My friend Lucy went down and we all kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s do it for her,’” Taylor said postgame. “And we did.”

Aditi Foster and Taylor Lapointe each scored a hat trick for the Wildcats. Addison Pattillo had one of her own for the Tar Heels.

Speaking of tricks, Darcy Felter’s lone goal of the game was a dazzler. Her second-quarter shovel shot past Northwestern goalie Jenika Cuocco was another score that brought the back-and-forth affair within one. Cuocco, meanwhile, was a force for the Cats, posting 11 saves to Carolina’s seven.

DARCY FELTER…BACKHAND THROUGH TRAFFIC 🤯🤯🤯

(via @uncwlax, ESPN) pic.twitter.com/hbf4WajLps

— TLN 🥍 (@LacrosseNetwork) May 24, 2026

In the third quarter, a two-minute unreleasable penalty against Northwestern, which Amonte Hiller challenged and lost, flipped the game’s momentum. UNC scored two goals in 40 seconds for a 10-7 edge — and 5-1 scoring run — but again, Amonte Hiller threw a challenge flag on the latter goal. This time, it was successful, erasing a Carolina score and closing the gap to two goals.

Another crucial challenge came with roughly seven minutes to play, when Amonte Hiller flagged another Carolina goal by Caroline Godine. It was successful, wiping Carolina’s 12-12 tying goal off the board and issuing Godine a yellow card for a dangerous follow-through, putting the Wildcats on their own two-minute power play.

In a game where possession proved pivotal — and a sport where teams lose a timeout if they lose a challenge — Amonte Hiller and her staff took the risks, and were rewarded, just in time for the sun to come out.