COLLEGE PARK, Md. – When somebody mentioned to Maryland co-captain Zoe Stukenberg that her senior class would now leave college having never lost a game on their home turf, Terps coach Cathy Reese, sitting nearby in the team’s post-game press conference, briefly put her head in her hands, as if she didn’t realize the accomplishment that had just been minted.

Or how close they were to losing it.

“That’s a huge stat,” Reese said a few moments later, while answering another question about top-seeded Maryland’s dramatic 13-12 comeback win over visiting and eighth-seeded Stony Brook in the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday at the Terps’ Field Hockey and Lacrosse complex. “I don’t ever really think about that stuff.”

At least a few other people were, though.

“I guess I don’t have to knock on wood anymore,” Stukenberg said, tapping on the table in front of her.

Temping fate, they did, in what was as wild a tournament game as they come. And a clash of many things as well: longstanding national power Maryland vs. up-and-coming program from Long Island; a zone defense scheme vs. a cadre of offensive talent that included Stukenberg, a Tewaaraton Award finalist; and on the other end, another pair of finalists going largely mono a mono, Maryland defender and co-captain Nadine Hadnagy vs. recently-minted NCAA Division I single-season points record holder, Stony Brook junior Kylie Ohlmiller.

The Seawolves, in their first-ever NCAA quarterfinal appearance, raced to a 5-1 lead in the first 13:45 against a Maryland Class of 2017 that finished 46-0 at home, and a program that had reached each of the last eight final fours, and hadn’t lost a game on its funky green Astroturf home field since March of 2012.

It looked most likely that they would fall midway through the second half, trailing 11-7 with 14:57 left. Ohlmiller, who had three goals and four assists, had just assisted the last two scores. Stony Brook’s backer zone defense had been effective enough to slow Maryland’s top-ranked offense, despite what ended up being lopsided differences in fouls (Stony Brook’s 58 to Maryland’s 15), yellow cards (5 to 0) and free-position shots (3 to Maryland’s 11). Seawolves sophomore goalie Anna Tesoriero (13 saves) was a big reason why, turning aside many low off-side hip chances with pretty stick saves.

Down four, a situation Maryland had not experienced since last year’s title game loss to North Carolina, Reese called timeout. “Chip away, one play at a time, one goal a time,” was the message.

Forty-one seconds and two draw controls later, it was 11-9 and Stony Brook Joe Spallina called timeout to regroup his side. On the other, Reese, having already delivered the big-picture message a few moments earlier, simply pointed at captains Stukenberg and Hadnagy, said “This is you,” and the coaching staff walked away for the rest of the break.

“I don’t know what was said, but we came out of that and felt we could win the game,” Reese said.

Turns out, in part, it was that thing, the streak, she wasn’t thinking about.

“Win or lose, this is our last game as seniors on this field,” said Hadnagy, who, with Stukenberg, has started for the powerhouse Terps since freshman year. “Give it our all, no matter what the outcome would be. We were able to get in there and fight, win the 50-50 balls. That was our goal in the beginning of the game and at the end it really showed.”

Maryland finished by winning seven of the last nine draw controls and scoring six of the last seven goals. Junior attacker Taylor Hensh, who hadn’t registered a point all day, notched a hat trick in the final 14:33 alone, cutting hard through the Stony Brook zone that had clogged the middle and disrupted passing lanes for most of the game. Sophomore Jen Giles, also without a point until then, posted two goals and two assists in the same span. Freshmen Kali Hartshorn and Lizzie Colson won 10 of Maryland’s 19 overall draw controls.

“Nadine and I were trying to keep our heads up and lead by example,” said Stukenberg, the senior midfielder who posted three goals, two assists, three draw controls and two ground balls. She has 47 goals and 25 assists for the season. “I don’t think people on the field needed me to say, ‘C’mon. Pick it up!’ Everyone is trying to pick it up, to play their best. No one is trying to hit the goalie. There’s only so much you can do in this type of game when you feel like nothing’s on. But [you could get] the 50-50 balls, the draw controls, hustle after ground balls. The way that Nadine and everyone picked it up and showed how much they wanted it was what gave everyone the spark to finish up the game.”

Maryland led for just the final 2:14, when Hensh cut off-ball and took an inside feed from Stukenberg to make it 13-12. Even after Hartshorn won the ensuing draw, Stony Brook still had a chance when Tesoriero made a low save, but the rebound went to Maryland with 56 seconds left. The 90-second shot clock was no longer a factor and they milked the final moments.

And so the unbeaten Terps moved on to the final four, where they will face Penn State on Friday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Maryland has won 47 of their last 48 games overall, the last loss coming to North Carolina in the championship last year. (Since the start of the 2013 season, Maryland is 109-4, with three losses to North Carolina, two in NCAA title games while winning two championships.) And with Navy eliminating the Tar Heels on Saturday, about an hour after all the dramatics in College Park, Maryland is the heavy favorite to take the program’s 13th NCAA title.

Thanks in part, to its two senior captains and Tewaaraton Award finalist tandem, and eight other classmates that will never know what it’s like to lose a game at home.