Kelly Amonte Hiller Sets Northwestern, North Carolina Rematch for 2026 Final

Kelly Amonte Hiller now has the 2026 DI women’s lacrosse championship headed for a rematch that already has history behind it. Northwestern and North Carolina will meet Sunday, May 24, at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois, with the title game set to revisit the matchup that decided last season’s crown.

The final comes out of a 29-team, single-elimination tournament built around 15 automatic bids and 14 at-large selections. The semifinals and championship will be played at Northwestern University’s Martin Stadium, and the higher seed hosts the quarterfinal matchups before the bracket reaches Evanston.

Northwestern And North Carolina

North Carolina beat Northwestern 12-8 to win the 2025 national championship, and that result gives Sunday’s meeting a direct line back to last year. The Tar Heels’ victory was their first national title since 2022 and their fourth all-time.

That makes the 2026 final more than a fresh championship game. It is a second chance for Northwestern in the same matchup, and it gives North Carolina a chance to defend a title it already took from the Wildcats once in this run. The bracket’s path to Martin Stadium leaves the final stage fixed in one place, with the title game and semifinals both landing in Evanston.

Martin Stadium In Evanston

Sunday’s final will be played at Martin Stadium in Evanston, the Northwestern campus venue that now hosts the end of the tournament. The setup pushes the decisive round onto Northwestern’s home field, which gives the final a specific site instead of a neutral backdrop somewhere else in the postseason.

For readers following the championship bracket, the practical takeaway is simple: the 2026 tournament narrows to one game, one site, and one matchup. Northwestern gets another shot at the team that beat it for the 2025 title, while North Carolina arrives with the recent championship edge from that 12-8 win.