CHESTER, Pa. — The North Carolina women's lacrosse team held off a comeback bid by Penn State and advanced to the NCAA Division I final with a 12-11 win Friday night.

The No. 3 seed Tar Heels (19-2) will face top-seeded Maryland, which beat No. 4 seed Syracuse on Friday, in Sunday's final at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. North Carolina is seeking its second NCAA title.

The Tar Heels led the unseeded Nittany Lions (14-7) by five midway through the second half, but a goal by Penn State attacker Madison Carter (South River) capped a run of four straight and cut the deficit to one with 7:12 remaining. North Carolina attacker Molly Hendrick won a crucial draw control, and the Tar Heels held on to the ball for nearly six minutes, until midfielder Madison Cyr (Winters Mill) forced a turnover with about 90 seconds remaining.

A shot by attacker Steph Lazo (St.?Mary's) with 50 seconds left did little to challenge North Carolina goalkeeper Caylee Waters (eight saves), whose stop effectively salted the game away.

Tar Heels midfielder Carly Reed had five goals, a game high. Penn State attacker Jenna Mosketti (Fallston) had three goals.

jshaffer@baltsun.com

twitter.com/jonas_shaffer