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ROUND ROCK, Texas – Twelve minutes into the second half Friday, McKinney Boyd trailed, 1-0. There was no panic, however.

Not until seven minutes later, anyway, when Friendswood was hitting panic mode because it couldn't stop Boyd from scoring. Boyd found the net three times in seven minutes to take control in its 3-1 victory in a Class 4A girls state soccer semifinal.

"We just had to relax," said senior defender Katherine Cox, who had two goals and an assist on the third. "What you saw in the first half wasn't our team."

What fans at Round Rock ISD Stadium saw in the first half was a young team from a school that opened two years ago. It's what you might expect from a team making its first state appearance against Friendswood, which made it to state in 2006 and '07.

But while Boyd is making its first state appearance, five of its players are not.

Seniors Lindsay Mumper, Katherine Wright, Kathryn Williamson and Cox, along with junior Jordan Sickman, helped McKinney North win the 4A title in 2006.

They left for Boyd, along with coach Jimmie Lankford, a few months later. And after leading North to its first state title in school history, they can do the same for Boyd today with a victory over Wichita Falls Rider.

"They know what it takes," Lankford said. "Those seniors have really stepped up."

Including Williamson, who will play soccer at Florida. She's recovering from a torn ACL and hadn't played this season until Friday, when her hard rehabilitation work earned her a starting spot. Williamson came out of the game after a few minutes, but she gave a motivational speech at halftime.

Lankford's halftime speech to the players was about attacking. To keep attacking, specifically. Boyd (24-2-1) had six shots on goal in the first half to just one for Friendswood (24-2-5), and Boyd had only been shut out once this season.

It just needed to get the ball in the net, which is what Cox did on a penalty kick with 27:51 left. Two minutes later, the senior sent a ball toward the goal from 45 yards away that Kelley Monogue deflected in to give Boyd a 2-1 lead. Boyd kept the pressure on, and with 21 minutes left, Cox scored from the right side of the box on a kick that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net.

It was lucky, she said.

But the victory wasn't. Boyd has as much talent as any 4A team, and just as important, it has players who have been here before to lead their younger teammates.

"I just told them that state is an awesome experience," Cox said.

No matter what team you're playing for.