About nine minutes into the second half Tuesday, Princeton midfielder Ellie McNulty scored to give the Tigers an 8-4 lead over Maryland women’s lacrosse.

It was the largest deficit the Terps have faced all season. It took them about 13 minutes to erase Princeton’s lead, tying the game 9-9 with a goal from midfielder Grace Griffin.

No. 3 Maryland went on to win, 11-10, to secure the team’s first one-goal regular-season win since April 28, 2016.

“I’m proud of our team and the way we fought back,” coach Cathy Reese said. “It was a good game for us to really have to dig deep and find a way to win when we weren’t playing great.”

[Read more: No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse rides second-half comeback to 11-10 win over Princeton]

Attacker Taylor Hensh scored the game-winner from a free position shot with 45 seconds to go.

The Tigers presented the Terps with a greater level of adversity than they typically face. The last one-goal game the team played was its 16-15 loss to North Carolina on Feb. 24.

Maryland’s struggles against Princeton were due to the team playing as individuals, Reese said. Once the Terps played as a unit, looks started to open up on goal, and their defense limited the Tigers to three goals in the second half.

Players and coaches also said the key to the comeback was the team’s composure.

“We just believed in each other, and that’s what we needed to do,” Hensh said. “As long as we do us and play Maryland lacrosse and be a Maryland family … we’re going to come out on top every single time.”

[Read more: “A matter of time”: Megan Whittle is poised to break Maryland lacrosse’s scoring record]

The Terps’ schedule won’t let up down the stretch — the team closes with home matchups against No. 14 Penn State and No. 7 Northwestern — so they may have more tight games before entering the postseason.

Attacker Megan Whittle hopes her team can use the hard-fought victory as a lesson moving forward.

“It just goes to show how we do have a target on our backs and we have to bring it from the opening whistle,” Whittle said. “We can’t get caught back on our heels because every team is very good that we play, and every team is going to give us their best shot.”