The Northwestern Wildcats have no reason to believe their fourth straight national title will be their last.

The Wildcats (21-1), who beat the Penn Quakers (17-2) in the championship at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sunday night, are only the second team to win even two straight championships — and now it has its sights set on the Maryland Terrapins’ record of seven straight from 1995 to 2001.

“You never really can anticipate what’s going to happen with young players coming in, with injuries and with the chemistry of the team,” Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, who played for the Terrapins during their string of dominance, said. “But we’re excited about the players we have coming back.”

And for good reason. Almost all of the Wildcats’ offense is expected to return next season, as their four seniors scored just three goals this spring.

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Penn, which beat Northwestern, 11-7, on April 27, couldn’t solve junior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop and a defense that held the Quakers (17-2) to their lowest output of the season.

The Wildcats’ past four seasons collectively has been one of the most dominant in the history of college sports. Northwestern has gone 82-3 during the run, and their four titles are the second-most of any team since 1991. But are the Wildcats a dynasty?

“I’m not going to say that,” Hiller said. “But if you want to, I’d be OK with it. Just to give you some perspective, [when I played for the Terrapins we] were the top seed and we got a bye to the Final Four. I think the road was a lot easier back then, and there are so many good teams out there now.”

Northwestern will have to compensate for one big loss, as defender Christy Finch, who forced 70 turnovers this season, graduated.

“She’s probably one of the few defenders in Division I that I’ve ever coached that gets any sort of fear,” Penn coach Karin Brower said. “She can strip people left and right and forces so many turnovers.”

Junior midfielders Hannah Nielsen, who led the Wildcats with 114 points and 63 assists, and Hilary Bowen, who was named the event’s Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year and tied an NCAA record with 17 goals in the tournament, will return to lead a quest for a fifth straight championship. And so will Lathrop, who made a season-high 11 saves on Sunday.

“I think this one was probably my favorite one,” Finch said referring to the title. “I just love this team so much, and I think that each gets better than the last.”