CHESTER, Pa. — Taylor Cummings wasn’t going to let North Carolina spoil another national championship game Sunday night.

During the Terrapins women’s lacrosse midfielder’s three years in College Park, she has suffered just three losses and two of those came to the Tar Heels. The first ended the Terps’ bid for perfect season in the title game her freshman season. And last year’s lone blemish, a regular-season loss, came to North Carolina, too.

So when Cummings emerged from the locker room after halftime facing a three-goal deficit, just the Terps’ second of the season, she took control. The junior standout tallied two goals and an assist in the final 30 minutes to push the No. 1-seed Terps past No. 2-seed North Carolina, 9-8, at PPL Park for their second-straight championship and the program’s 12th NCAA title.

“[Cummings is] such a competitor,” coach Cathy Reese said. “She’s so confident, and… she stepped up big, and just kind of brought the team with her.”

Cummings finished with three goals and two assists, while controlling seven draws en route to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Attacker Megan Whittle, meanwhile, tacked on three goals and an assist to spearhead the Terps’ comeback efforts and cap a breakout freshman season with an All-Tournament team selection.

Two of the Terps’ seniors, defender Megan Douty (two ground balls, one draw control and one caused turnover) and midfielder Kelly McPartland (one goal, one caused turnover) were also named to the All-Tournament team.

“They’re heavily laden with seniors, and I’ll be happy to see them all graduate,” North Carolina coach Jenny Levy said. “Unfortunately, [Whittle’s] not graduating this year, so we have to deal with her for another three years.”

For a while, though, it seemed North Carolina would be the one’s hoisting the trophy. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 2-0 lead and after the Terps scored thee unanswered, North Carolina responded with four straight goals entering halftime.

During the postgame press conference, Cummings told reporters Reese left the Terps alone during the break. And despite their joking after the victory about what went on in the locker room at halftime, it would’ve been hard to imagine the light-hearted banter possible about an hour earlier with the Terps trailing by three.

“In that moment, we really pulled together, and we were like, ‘All right, we have 30 minutes left and that will make or break our season,’” Cummings said. “We showed so much heart and so much hustle, and I think we exemplified what Maryland lacrosse really is in that second half.”

McPartland sparked the Terps’ surge in the final period when she disrupted North Carolina’s clearing attempt and dodged through traffic in the circle to score the first goal after the break.

Her connection ignited a five-goal run that gave the Terps an 8-6 lead. In that span, Cummings tied the game at six when she took advantage of a wide-open look from the top of the circle. Minutes later, she found Whittle from behind the circle for the rookie’s second score of the night, and her first of two goals less than two minutes.

Still, they couldn’t establish their dominance in the first half like they have been accustomed to all season. Just 15 seconds into the contest, North Carolina notched the first goal.

The Terps committed five turnovers and 10 fouls in the first half, and their uncharacteristic play contributed to North Carolina’s four-goal run to end the period. Additionally, Cummings allowed the Tar Heels to outdraw the Terps, 6-4, in the half.

“We’ve said it all year long, ever since I’ve been here, ‘[The draw] is four seconds of focus,’” Cummings said. “It’s exactly what got us back in the game.”

After the break, the Terps held a 7-2 advantage in the circle, which contributed to a 12-4 second-half edge in shot attempts.

Fitzpatrick (four saves) and the Terps defense also played the second half with a renewed determination as they held North Carolina to three clears on eight attempts after the Tar Heels successfully converted all six of their tries before the break.

“In the second half, we just made too many mental errors, and against a team like Maryland, you can’t really do that and recover easily,” midfielder Maggie Bill said. “They definitely turned up their pressure on our clear…we didn’t do a great job of responding to that.”

By the final buzzer, the tense locker room scene from halftime had turned into smiles and celebrations for the Terps’ second straight national championship over the team that has had their number in recent years.

“I said to them, ‘This isn’t about me,’” Reese remembered telling her players. “‘This is about you guys and you guys have been on this journey all season long, and you guys need to pull together right now, and find out what you’re willing to do for each other.’”