FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — East Coast lacrosse sits on top once again.
Northwestern fell to North Carolina 12-8 in the NCAA Division I championship at Gillette Stadium Sunday.
The Wildcats (19-3, 8-0 Big Ten) had seen drastically different outcomes in their last two championship games: a blowout victory in 2023 and a heartbreaking defeat in 2024. This year’s match echoed the final score from last season, but unlike that game, the ’Cats held only one lead — 1-0 at the beginning of the contest.
This is the Tar Heels’ (22-0, 9-0 ACC) fourth title in program history and their second in the past four years.
Junior attacker Lucy Munro and senior midfielder Sam Smith each scored two goals and junior attacker Madison Taylor recorded four assists. Graduate student goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer saved a career-high 17 shots and set the program record for saves in a game.
Both defenses held strong through much of the first quarter, combining for five turnovers.
With 8:44 remaining in the quarter, redshirt sophomore attacker Abby LoCascio broke the stalemate with a goal assisted by Taylor.
Just three minutes later, North Carolina answered back, as attacker Chloe Humphrey found the back of the net.
On the next possession, Sweitzer saved a shot from Humphrey, but North Carolina was able to come back down a possession later and score to take a 2-1 lead.
The Tar Heels won their third-straight draw and didn’t take their feet off the gas, scoring again on that possession. The first quarter closed with North Carolina up by two scores.
The Tar Heels controlled the draw to open the second frame and immediately took advantage, tallying another score just one minute into the quarter.
After North Carolina saved a shot from Taylor on NU’s next possession, Humphrey notched her second goal of the game, giving the Tar Heels a 5-1 lead.
Multiple saves from Sweitzer helped keep the ’Cats in the game, and NU scored its first goal in over 15 minutes of game time: a strike from the eight-meter arc by sophomore midfielder Taylor Lapointe.
The ’Cats’ defense continued to play strong, with graduate student defender Jane Hansen causing two turnovers in two minutes. After the scoring stalled, the teams entered halftime with North Carolina leading 5-2.
After Sweitzer opened the half with two saves, NU narrowed the gap as senior midfielder Sam Smith scored on a breakaway counter-attack. The Tar Heels then answered right back, with Humphrey securing a hat trick. North Carolina scored again to take a 7-3 lead over halfway through the third quarter.
Less than one minute later, Munro scored for the ’Cats, cutting their deficit to three. The final six minutes of the quarter saw more defensive stands and the score held at 7-4 in favor of North Carolina. This would be the closest the game would get.
The Tar Heels blew the game open in the fourth quarter thanks to Eliza Osburn, who scored two goals in nine seconds. Shortly later, North Carolina’s Olivia Vergano scored to make the Tar Heel lead 10-4.
Though NU chipped in four goals by virtue of Munro, Hansen, Smith and freshman attacker Aditi Foster, North Carolina’s strong start in the frame was enough to secure the national championship.
Here are three takeaways from the ’Cats’ defeat on championship Sunday.
1. Undefeated North Carolina showcases pure dominance
The Tar Heels exemplified exactly why they have now been crowned the champions of Division I women’s lacrosse. They entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed for a reason, as they have been the most complete team in the nation.
Humphrey’s four goals showcased the dominance of her program-record scoring season, totalling 90 on the year. Her sister, Ashley Humphrey, notched four assists in the game for an NCAA-record 90 assists on the season.
On the defensive side, North Carolina goalkeeper Betty Nelson recorded eight saves while allowing eight goals. Eleven different Tar Heels caused turnovers in this game.
2. Defense plays strong, but offense goes ghost
Despite the loss, the NU’s defense was able to limit the high-powered North Carolina offense. The Tar Heels averaged 17.71 goals per game headed into this matchup, and the ‘Cats held them to just 12.
North Carolina’s five first-half goals were its lowest first-half total of the season.
Sweitzer’s career-high 17 saves tops her previous best of 15 in 2023 against the Tar Heels, when she was at Syracuse.
Meanwhile, Hansen shined with four ground balls and five caused turnovers, three of which came in the first half. Both players, making their final appearances as ’Cats, had signature games.
The ’Cats failed to convert offensively, scoring a season-low eight goals on 22 shots. As the defense kept them in the game, NU couldn’t capitalize on offensive possessions. Nelson stood firm as the ’Cats only had 16 shots on goal.
In the fourth quarter, NU allowed five goals, the most of any quarter in the game.
When the teams faced off in the regular season in March, the ‘Cats allowed 15 goals to North Carolina.
3. Taylor’s historic season reaches an end
In the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, Taylor scored six goals, bringing her total to 105 goals on the season. She had broken the NCAA Division I single-season scoring record, previously held by High Point’s Abby Hormes with 103 goals in 2022.
But she wasn’t done there.
By the end of Sunday’s game, Taylor had amassed 109 goals over the course of the 2025 season, the most by any player in a single season. Though she was held scoreless, she led the team with four assists.
Her 33 points in this tournament are tied for the second-most in a single NCAA tournament.
Taylor is a Tewaaraton Award finalist, given to the best player in college lacrosse. This year’s winner will be announced on Thursday.
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