VILLANOVA, PA-No. 3 seeded UNC women’s lacrosse is heading to the NCAA Championship for only the second time in school history after a decisive win over Northwestern 11-4 on Friday in Villanova, PA.

The victory is the first ever for Tar Heel women’s lacrosse against Northwestern in NCAA Tournament play. The win also ties the UNC record for season wins and ends Northwestern’s eight-game run of appearances in the Championship game.

Kara Cannizzaro was the dominating force for the Heels in the game, scoring four goals in a row during the second half of play. Abbey Friend added three goals to the scoreboard. Single Tar Heel goals came from Aly Messinger, Sammy Jo Tracy, Kelly Devlin, and Jessica Griffin. For the Wildcats, single goals came from Kat DeRonda, Amanda Macaluso, Kelly Rich and Alyssa Leonard.

UNC is now 17-3 on the season overall. The Heels will face No. 1 seeded Maryland in the championship game  Sunday night in Villanova, PA, with the start time set for 8 p.m. EDT.