EVANSTON, Ill. – Oftentimes on the lacrosse field, it's the little moments that lead to the big moments.
 
It might be a particular play that you and your teammates had perfected. It might be something you saw on film. Or it might be something you had been trained to notice when you get into a defensive position with your team's season on the line.
 
For Johns Hopkins' All-American and Tewaaraton Award finalist Reagan O'Brien, it was her extraordinary attention to detail that allowed the Blue Jays to advance to their first-ever NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship weekend where they will face top-ranked Northwestern on Friday at Martin Stadium at 4:30 p.m. (CT)
 
O'Brien and the Blue Jays were down 12-11 with under two minutes to play in Johns Hopkins' NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game against Stony Brook. The Seawolves owned possession in their offensive end and the outcome of the game seemed all but determined. Stony Brook would advance to Championship Weekend, thus denying the Blue Jays their first ever appearance in the Women's Lacrosse Final Four.
 
But that's not the way O'Brien envisioned her senior season ending coming out of a timeout with 1:39 remaining in the game.
 
As O'Brien made her way to her defensive position following the timeout, head coach Tim McCormack and his coaching staff had designed a play to triple team the Stony Brook attacker, recover the ball and quickly begin a ride to the offensive end of the field.
 
Once she was set defensively, her lifetime of lacrosse knowledge took over.
 
A little moment was about to become a big moment for O'Brien and the Blue Jays.
              
"To be completely honest, I didn't have an individual plan," said O'Brien. "When Tim and Coach Dor [Dorrien Van Dyke] said they needed me I knew it was my time to step up. The goal was to get the ball back and try our hardest to ride. Once I saw her (the Seawolves' attacker) choke up on her stick, I knew the check was there. I trusted what my coaches have ingrained in my mind and did whatever I could to get the ball back."
 
O'Brien executed the check perfectly and the ball fell to the turf at historic Homewood Field. Taylor Hoss picked up the ground ball and found Paige Willard within the eight-meter circle. Willard went low-to-high to tie the game at 12 with 1:28 to play.
 
O'Brien wasn't done; there was another little moment that would lead to an even bigger moment for the Blue Jays.
 
Hopkins won the ensuing draw, but an unfortunate turnover gave the ball back to Stony Brook with just 33 seconds remaining to the play.
 
The Blue Jays fell back into a defensive presence hoping for one last ride and one more shot at the Seawolves' goal before overtime.
 
Right on cue, O'Brien caused another turnover. Teammate Lacey Downey was the beneficiary of the ground ball with 13.7 seconds remaining before the final horn. Four passes later, Ava Angello made one more pass to a wide-open Hoss, who scored as time expired to send Hopkins to Championship Weekend.
 
"In reality, I had to trust in our team and our coaching staff," said O'Brien. "We practice situations like the last play of the Stony Brook game over and over again. I saw an opportunity to make history. I would say I also saw my chance to get the ball back and help the attackers have another chance to score."
 
"The only thing going through my brain was we cannot lose this game. I need to do whatever it takes to win."
 
O'Brien, who is considered to be the best takeaway defender in women's lacrosse, enters Championship weekend as the all-time NCAA leader in caused turnovers with 249 during her four-year career.
 
For McCormack, who will coach on NCAA Championship Weekend for the third time in his career this weekend, his Blue Jays have now won nine games in his four seasons when entering the fourth quarter of a game.
 
"My first thought was how impressed I was by the play Reagan had made to get that check off," said McCormack. "Kendal Crawford did an excellent job holding the attacker up, and Reagan, as she has done all year, was patient and took advantage of a hanging stick. I thought it was incredibly well-timed and executed."
 
O'Brien and the 2026 Johns Hopkins lacrosse team have enjoyed all of their little moments throughout the season.
 
On Championship Weekend, the Blue Jays will play for the biggest moment of their careers.