Northwestern’s seniors capped their college careers with a 23-0 season and the team’s fifth consecutive Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship with a 21-7 defeat of North Carolina on Saturday.

“Before the season, we were joking that the only thing we had not done was go undefeated,” said Hannah Nielsen. “I am so proud of my teammates for doing this. We should be so proud of each other.”

The Wildcats never left any room for discussion in the title game about who was the better team. Senior Hilary Bowen, just weeks after an ACL injury, broke a triple team and sent a rocket past Tar Heel goaltender Logan Ripley for the Wildcats’ first goal less than a minute into the game. The Wildcats scored a free-position goal a few minutes later to make the score 2-0.

North Carolina scored a free-position goal of its own, but the Wildcats restored their lead with another bullet past Ripley. Just 15 seconds later, the Wildcats went up 4-1 when sophomore Brooke Matthews took a dish from junior Danielle Spencer and took it straight to the goal.

Tar Heel Corey Donohoe scored another free-position goal, but the Wildcats would not stop the onslaught, scoring twice in the next minute to make the score 7-2. It didn’t stop there. Northwestern kept finding the net, scoring nine consecutive goals to make the score 14-2.

The second half was more of the first as Northwestern went up, 19-3. The Tar Heels outscored the Wildcats, 4-2, in the final minutes but the Northwestern lead was insurmountable.

Wildcats coach Kelly Amonte Hiller honored her seniors by playing all 10 in the final minutes before subbing in the underclassmen for the final seconds.

“This one feels very special to me,” Amonte Hiller said. “Every championship has been special in different ways. We had to overcome a lot of adversity to get here, so that makes it very satisfying.”

The team faced several challenges this season, including Bowen’s injury and the death of Amonte Hiller’s father, one of the team’s biggest supporters.

“We dedicated this win and this undefeated season to Kelly’s dad, Lewis Amonte,” Spencer said. “None of this would have been possible without the inspiration that he gave her. He inspired her, and in turn that inspired all of us. None of the hard work we put in this season would have been possible without his influence.”

Semifinals

Northwestern  5          6          1          1 − 13

Penn                4          7          1          0 − 12

Northwestern scoring: Katrina Dowd 4, Danielle Spencer 3, Meredith Frank 3, Samantha Santulli, Hilary Bowen, Alexandra Frank.

Penn scoring: Ali DeLuca 4, Giulia Giordano 3, Samantha Bird 2, Erin Brennan, Emma Spiro, Bethany Warren.

Saves: Morgan Lathrop (Northwestern) 11.  Emily Szelest (Penn) 7.

North Carolina 4         4 − 8

Maryland         4          3 − 7

North Carolina scoring: Laura Zimmerman 3, Megan Bosica 2, Jenn Russell, Kristen Taylor, Corey Donohoe.

Maryland scoring: Karri Ellen Johnson 4, Sarah Mollison 2, Laura Merrifield.

Saves: Logan Ripley (North Carolina) 7. Brittany Dipper (Maryland) 6.

Championship game

Northwestern              15        6 − 21

North Carolina                        3          4 − 7

Northwestern scoring: Hilary Bowen 5, Katrina Dowd 4, Danielle Spencer 4, Brooke Matthews 3, Meredith Frank 2, Mary Kate Casey, Meghan Plunkett, Samantha Santulli.

North Carolina scoring: Jenn Russell 2, Megan Bosica, Kelly Taylor, Katie Brooks, Corey Donohoe, Kristen Carr.

Saves: Morgan Lathrop (Northwestern) 5. Logan Ripley (North Carolina) 2.