North Carolina, Maryland Renew Storied Lacrosse Rivalry With Title Game Berth at Stake

For the first time since 2020, two of the most storied programs in women’s lacrosse will meet again — this time with a spot in the national title game on the line. 

In an old-school ACC matchup, North Carolina (18-1, 10-0 ACC) and Maryland (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten) will meet Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET inside Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill. as the Tar Heels continue their quest toward back-to-back national championships. 

Friday will mark the first meeting between the Tar Heels and Terrapins since that February meeting six years ago, as UNC chases its fifth national title against college lacrosse’s most decorated program, with Maryland pursuing its 15th championship.

“Our focus has been on us and our game plan,” sophomore attacker Chloe Humphrey said during Thursday’s press conference. “No matter who we’re playing or who the opponent is, we’re always going to play Carolina lacrosse, and nothing is going to change that.”

Prior to Maryland’s departure from the ACC in 2014, the Tar Heels and Terrapins annually delivered one of the premier rivalries in women’s lacrosse — meeting six times in the ACC Championship game alone — highlighted by a triple-overtime thriller in the 2013 national title game that delivered North Carolina its first championship.

Since the Terps’ move to the Big Ten, the programs have split six meetings, including another pair of national championship clashes — with Maryland capturing the 2015 crown before North Carolina answered in 2016 to secure the program’s second title.

“It’s such an honor to play Maryland, and the Carolina-Maryland matchup is something that all of these players watched,” Jenny Levy said. “It goes way back when they’re little — it inspired them to either go to Maryland or go to Carolina. So, I think for the lacrosse world, it’s really exciting to see this matchup again, and it’s really exciting to see it in the Final Four.”

Maryland will mark Carolina’s third Big Ten opponent of the season. The Tar Heels knocked off Ohio State at home in February before falling in overtime to Northwestern — the NCAA Tournament’s top seed — in March. That marked UNC’s lone blemish of the season, snapping a 31-game winning streak dating back to last season’s 22-0 national championship campaign. 

“I think we had a lot of things to work on that we were getting away with in wins, because I think a win sometimes covers those things that need to be exposed,” Chloe Humphrey said Tuesday. “So, I think having that loss was actually very beneficial for us to understand the consequences of not doing what our coaches are asking of us.”

Two more victories separate North Carolina from becoming the first program to repeat as national champions since Maryland accomplished the feat in 2014 and 2015. Friday’s national semifinal against the Terrapins is set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU, with Johns Hopkins and Northwestern squaring off in the second semifinal at 5:30 p.m.

“Coming into this championship weekend, all four great teams have great coaches who’ve been in positions before to win championships, and have won championships,” Levy said. “So it’s really about mentality, how you feel, and we build that all year. So it’s nothing unusual for them, what I tell them, they don’t need — they’re ready to go because of what we’ve already done.”