FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – College lacrosse coaches preach it time and time again: Adjustments, big or small, can flip a game on its head.

That adage proved true on Friday night at Gillette Stadium, powering Boston College to its first-ever national title game. The Eagles, an unseeded team, trailed the Navy Midshipmen 9-6 at halftime, only to reverse the script come the second stanza.

By night’s end, coach Acacia Walker’s squad secured a 16-15 win, stalling the Patriot League foe’s Cinderella run.

“You can either crumble for it or you can own it and do everything you can to fix it,” said senior Kate Weeks on her team’s slow start. “If we're having a first half like that where it's like, OK, is this a game again we're going to be a second half team? We're just going to own it and get fired up from it, and come out in the first five minutes and just kind of destroy the draw and get as many goals as we can.”

BC did exactly that, starting the second half on a 5-0 run, but its about face began when Kenzie Kent, also a member of the Eagles’ women’s hockey team, scored with eight seconds left in the first half.

From there, the Eagles’ confidence returned, and their five big guns – Kent, Weeks, Kaileen Hart, Kayla O’Connor and Sam Apuzzo – went to work. By night’s end, they combined for 20 points, but it was Kent who stole the show.

The junior attack from Norwell, Mass. gave Navy fits, potting five goals and handing out one helper. The Midshipmen, quite simply, had no answer for her speed and quick hands.

“We've just been practicing sort of an inverted version of our motion where we put Kenzie or Sam inside to sort of separate the gaps of the zone, and then just put Kate in a position to be able to feed,” Walker said. “Luckily they're multidimensional, and that allows us to be able to make an adjustment like that, and it wound up working.”

As strong as Kent and Co. were, BC’s comeback charge could have been a far steeper ask if not for goalie Zoe Ochoa’s efforts. 

Ochoa, the senior goaltender who entered the night fourth on BC’s all-time saves list, made nine stops in the first half. Kelly Larkin and Jenna Collins, Navy’s top two scorers, did damage, but Ochoa was often up to the task, never letting the Midshipmen open too wide of a lead.

And, as the Eagles have done all season, in stepped sophomore Lauren Daly for the second half, making five saves of her own.

“I think the biggest thing on defense is just kind of taking it one play at a time and every time the ball comes down, it's regroup,” Ochoa said. “It's a new 90 seconds on the shot clock. We all have to do our jobs and just hope that everyone trusts each other, we make the stop.”

Much credit for BC’s change of fortune goes to Kent, Ochoa and others, but their mantra in the game’s buildup – togetherness – also shone through. 

It’s a trait Weeks and Hart spoke extensively about earlier in the week, referring to the Eagles’ 6-3 start to the season, grueling ACC slate and losing senior captain Tess Chandler to a season-ending injury. Thus, when facing a 9-6 halftime deficit in the mirror, BC didn’t wilt.

“I think the reason they're able to stay grounded is they're very smart kids,” Walker said. “They're very smart people. So I think they almost know better than to get caught up with the bright lights and the noises and the distractions.”

Matters, however, don’t get any easier for the squad from nearby Newton, Mass.

It’ll take on Maryland this Sunday, a team playing in its fifth straight national title game and one that comprehensively downed Penn State, 20-10, in its own semifinal. 

The Terrapins are also the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, and have enjoyed a 22-0 season. BC, therefore, will enter as the underdog and with the chance to make even more history.

“I give a lot of respect to Maryland,” Weeks said. “They're a phenomenal team and program with great coaches. And to be honest, we respect every opponent we go against, but nothing fazes our team that much. We stay extremely grounded, and I think that even though we maybe didn't have the greatest first half, it's something that we have fixed.”