FINAL - Penn 9, Maryland 7

Final: Penn 9, Maryland 7

Maryland made a push on their last possession, but Penn used a triple-team and a key save from Waxman to put it away.

Stay tuned to dp.com for more coverage now and next week of Penn's trip to the lacrosse Final Four, right here at Franklin Field.

Good afternoon from The Buzz.

4:04: Penn 9, Maryland 7

Penn will win this game if it avoids stupid plays, but unfortunately the Quakers just had one, fouling Kelly Kasper right in front of the goal. She scored on the next play. It's a cat-and-mouse game right now; Penn has its offense spread out as far as humanely possible to eat up the clock.

9:43: Penn 9, Maryland 6

Maryland's Lauren Cohen fired a bullet past Waxman from 15 yards out, but that's ok -- that's the kind of shot Penn wants the Terps to take. And it hardly mattered, because freshman phenom and Ivy League ROY Ali DeLuca finally got on the board, shoving anything and everything out of her way to score unassisted. Penn's biggest enemy right now is the clock.

14:17: Penn 8, Maryland 5

Becca Edwards just took a pass from Muller three yards in front of goal and buried it. Burton has gone from invincible to helpless in 10 minutes. What a reversal for Penn.

15:00: Penn 7, Maryland 5

Chrissy Muller scored and Lehman scored another free-position goal from 10 yards out, and all of a sudden Penn has a two-goal lead! My, how the tables have turned. And only one of Penn's goals has been assisted so far. Not bad at all.

20:09: Marlyand 5, Penn 5

Interesting tidbit of the day: Penn hoops coach Glen Miller and assistants Chris Sparks and Mike Martin approach the entrance with a handful of recruits, only to be barred at the gate by guards claiming they didn't know who Miller's two partners-in-crime were. Still awaiting word on whether the coaches had to buy tickets to get in, but I'm sure the recruits were very impressed by that.

21:39: Marlyand 5, Penn 5

Tie game! Chrissy Muller took Burton by complete surprise and fired a line drive right past her helmet. Maybe the Quakers have a winning formula after all.

23:34: Marlyand 5, Penn 4

Neither team can hang onto the ball, and this game has quickly turned into a clinic on team defense. Luckily for Penn, a free-position goal from Ambrozy finally brings the deficit back to one.

Waxman got a serious scare too. She had the ball whacked out of her stick from behind and the Terps should have had an open-net goal -- but they blew it. Can't do that in the NCAA Tournament, but momentum is still with the visiting side.

Halftime: Marlyand 5, Penn 3

I believe the last time Penn got outscored in the second half was against Princeton several weeks ago, 5-6. But that time, Penn was already up 9-4 at the half. Maryland hasn't lost a game this year after leading at the break. Unfamiliar position for the Quakers, let's see how they respond.

1:18, First half: Marlyand 5, Penn 3

Penn needs to make a stand here. Against Boston University last week the Quakers gave the ball back with 17 seconds to go in the first half and watched as the Terriers streaked up the field and scored two seconds before halftime. That would be deadly right now.

3:00, First half: Marlyand 5, Penn 3

This is the most tightly officiated women's lacrosse game I've ever seen. Three offensive fouls in under 10 minutes? Crazy.

3:31, First half: Marlyand 5, Penn 3

Signs of life, despite six turnovers for the Quakers so far. Rachel Manson scored off a pretty feed and Melissa Lehman made her defender look silly in the open field. And Sarah Waxman, Penn's All-Ivy goalie, finally looks comfortable. She guessed wrong on some early Terps shots and almost got burned but looks much better now. The way Maryland is pushing the ball up, she's going to need to have a big game.

16:54, First half: Marlyand 3, Penn 1

Finally! Allison Ambrozy -- not a huge scorer -- finally created some space and buried a short-sided goal past Burton. Penn's going to have to find some other ways to score, though, if it wants to keep things close.

20:29, First half: Marlyand 3, Penn 0

All Terps in the early going, two isolation goals put Penn in an early hole. Player of the game so far is Terps goalie Allie Burton, who's done nothing but stuff the Quakers so far.

Clare Lochary of laxmagazine.com wrote a great sidebar the other day about the different coaching styles of the two teams, and the game is bearing it out so far. The Terps have the green light and they're taking the shots, especially in transition. This is as poorly as I've seen the Penn defense play this year.

One other thought: these refs must be taking their cues from the Suns-Spurs series. A yellow card and no fewer than six whistles so far, most of them on what I would call very light contact.

Good afternoon from Franklin Field. It's a beautiful day for women's lacrosse, and No. 4 Penn finally gets the ACC matchup it's been clamoring for. No. 5 Maryland -- underseeded in my opinion, just like Penn -- will present a darn stiff challenge. It's the tough offense vs. one of the nation's best defenses, so something's gotta give. Stay tuned for live updates.