W. Lax Final Four: PENN 9 DUKE 8 (OT); QUAKERS TO FACE NORTHWESTERN FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

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END OF GAME. DUKE 8 PENN 9 IT'S OVER PENN WINS!!!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY PENN IS GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. THEY'LL PLAY NORTHWESTERN ON SUNDAY FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

:42 Duke 8 Penn 9

:45 a foul is called on Duke, and Giulia Giordano has a free position. SHE PASSES IT OFF TO RACHEL MANSON WHO SCORES!

End of first OT period Duke 8 Penn 8

Waxman gets a great low save at :25, but takes the rest of OT to get it away. That's her seventh save of the night.

END OF REGULATION Duke 8 Penn 8

Penn had the ball for the last 45 seconds, but its only shot was wide and high.

Here's how OT works. There are two, three-minute periods. Both are played to their full length regardless of how many goals are or aren't scored. So it is not sudden death.

I've seen over 20 women's lacrosse games in my two years covering the team, and this game is without a doubt the most nerve-wracking I've ever watched. Regardless of the outcome it'll be a sweet finish. (This isn't hurt by the fact that "Baba O'Reily" is being played over the PA system.)

1:00 Duke 8 Penn 8

A delayed penalty called on Penn. On the ensuing free position shot Gilbride scores. 60 seconds will determine this final four game.

1:25 Duke 7 Penn 8

A Duke shot goes past goal. But Duke keeps possession. Davis fumbles it, but they regain possession. Kimel takes her last timeout. 85 seconds to go.

3:14 Duke 7 Penn 8

Penn turns it over. Duke will have plenty of time to tie it up.

5:40 Duke 7 Penn 8

Lehman drives down the center of the crease and scores her third of the game. Penn leads for the first time since 2:52 into the first. A stick check was called on Lehman, but the refs hold it up. Four-thirds of the Duke's lead is cut.

6:57 Duke 7 Penn 7

A media timeout is called. Penn had lost possession of the ball and Duke started charging up the field. But Ambrozy got some payback, causing Duke's Christina Germinario to turn it over. A foul is then called as Penn now has possession.

10:25 Duke 7 Penn 7

Chelsea Kocis takes it, shoots, but gets blocked by Imbesi. No foul called, though there was contact.

11:38 Duke 7 Penn 7

An Ambrozy shot goes wide. But soon after sophomore Ali DeLuca takes a low-angle shot, tying the game up. Three-thirds of Duke's lead is cut. Kimel calls her team's second of three timeouts.

12:56 Duke 7 Penn 6

On the ensuing draw control Ambrozy gets the draw. Penn's back on offense, taking its time despite the deficit. Lombardo takes another shot, but it's off the crossbar. Later on Melissa Lehman takes a bounce shot and it hits the back of the net. Two-thirds of the Duke's lead is cut.

A media timeout is called.

15:08 Duke 7 Penn 5

Kaitlyn Lombardo takes a Giordano pass and rips it into the goal. One-third of Duke's lead is cut.

18:05 Duke 7 Penn 4

Davis drives around the lower left side of the field, beats her defender, and gets her fifth goal of the game. Yes there's plenty of time left, but Duke then gets the draw control. Things just aren't looking good for Penn.

19:34 Duke 6 Penn 4.

Waxman gets a few saves, yet bobbles all of them as she just couldn't get possession of the ball. The All-Ivy selection just isn't looking too sharp today. A media timeout is called, which has to be a relief to these Quakers. They haven't come out looking to hot here, and Duke has been dominating possession this half. The Quakers must get a stop.

22:34 Duke 6 Penn 4 The refs call yet another foul against Penn. Of the free position shot, Davis scores her fourth of the night, her 60th of the season. Brower takes a timeout.

The foul disparity has now reached 14-5 in Duke's favor.

23:09 Duke 5 Penn 4 Katie Mazer gets a yellow card and must sit for the next three minutes. However Penn can sub.

25:00 Duke 5 Penn 4

Duke scores, as Davis gets another goal -- her third -- despite the ball trickling past Sarah Waxman. For a second the refs discussed whether it was a legal goal, but they did allow it.

26:03 Duke 4 Penn 4

Giordano scores off a pass from senior Chelsea Kocis. It's her 20th of the year. It's the first goal since 18:54 left in the first.

28:16 Duke 4 Penn 3

Great kick save by Imbesi of senior Allison Ambrozy.

HALFTIME: DUKE 4 PENN 3

Well for only the third time this year Penn find itself down going into the second. So far the Quakers are 2-1 in such situations, overcoming a 4-2 deficit at Cornell to win 7-6 and a 7-5 disadvantage to beat Northwestern 11-7. They couldn't surpass Stanford's 5-2 halftime lead, falling 10-8. So for them to come back down one at the break is certainly not unthinkable.

But for them to do so they must do a better job containing the Duke offense. Yes they've only given up four goals. But considering they average only six goals allowed, they're not doing as great of a job as they normally do on the defensive end. They gave up 10 shots, while only getting eight of their own. This includes letting Duke go 2-3 on free position shots. In return the Quakers are getting frustrated, as they've committed nine fouls vs. Duke's three. Finally, I know Coach Karin Brower always stresses draw controls. So she's clearly not happy her squad has been outdrawn 5-3.

This first five minutes of the second could make or break the game. If Penn comes out strong and scores a few quick goals, they might not relinquish the lead again. But if they come out uninspired and Duke scores first, this Penn squad better shape up quickly, or else they'll see another great season come to a bitter close. In 30 (game) minutes we'll find out which scenario it is. Stick around.

0:00 Duke 4 Penn 3.

Right at the buzzer Waxman makes a great save off a Jess Adams shot preventing the Blue Devils from increasing their lead. Maybe the Quakers can use this to get some momentum, as they'll need to come back in the second if they want to advance to the National Championship game Sunday.

1:52 Duke 4 Penn3

Great save by Imbesi on a Manson shot.

4:28 Duke 4 Penn 3

Kaitlyn Lombardo gets decked by two Duke players. But on the free position she runs away from goal.

6:01 Duke 4 Penn 3

Great save by Waxman, although she doesn't maintain possession. But Penn gets the groundball.

12:06 Duke 4 Penn 3

Senior Melissa Lehman scores off of a scorcher from about eight feet out. Penn's now within one.

13:55 Duke 4 Penn 2

Waxman gets a key save, maybe getting back some confidence after giving up four early goals.

15:20 Duke 4 Penn 2

Off a free position shot Duke's Lindsay Gilbride gets her 38th goal of the year. Penn's strategy of holding onto the ball for as long as possible to get the best possible shot might backfire if they fall behind by too much more. They need to get a stop right here.

17:30 Duke 3 Penn 2

After a timeout, Penn clears, then holds onto the ball for a solid few minutes. This has been Penn's standard attack: slow and deliberate offense. Penn finally gets off some shots, but freshman Giulia Giordano is stopped by Duke goalie Kim Imbesi twice.

23:31 Duke 3 Penn 2

Yet another goal by Davis, this time a low-angle shot, one that Penn goalkeeper Sarah Waxman seemed surprise she even took.

25:17 Duke 2 Penn 2

Sophomore Emma Spiro gets an unassisted goal to tie it back up.

26:26 Duke 2 Penn 1

Penn's Ali DeLuca gets beat by Sarah Bullard, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the game.

27:18 Penn 1 Duke 1

Carolyn Davis gets a goal off of a free position shot after Penn senior Tarah Kirnan fouls her. The game is all square at one.

29:00 left in the first half Penn 1 Duke 0.

The Quakers win the opening draw, and set up their deliberate offense. And at 29:00 mark senior Rachel Manson scores the first goal of the game. Senior Allison Ambrozy earns the assist.

Welcome back to the second leg of the Final Four from Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, as No. 2 Penn (16-1) takes on unseeded Duke (13-7). The winner will get Northwestern, who dominated Syracuse 16-8, including scoring nine unanswered in the second half. (When asked in the postgame press conference "what if it's Penn?" in the National Championship game, NU coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller refused to answer the question.)

Penn, as the higher seed is wearing its home whites, and Duke is wearing a mix of its black and blue. Unfortunately, I'm limited on how often I can post Buzz updates, so I'll only post every five minutes give or take.

Final Northwestern 16 Syracuse 8

The Wildcats dominated the second half, scoring nine straight before Syracuse got two late goals. If it's any solace, the Orange did do better than their previous game against Northwestern, when they lost 19-7.

7:37 left: Northwestern 15 Syracuse 6.

In some ways you could say this is the opposite of NU's Final Four game last year. In that game they outscored Penn 8-0 in the first half, and 4-2 in the second. Today they went up 7-6 vs. the Orange at half, but have now gone on an incredible 8-0 run to pretty much clinch a spot in Sunday's national championship game.

There is a plane flying above Johnny Unitas Stadium that has a message attached to its tail: "DUKE WLAX NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE IN!" Certain words come to mind, but I don't think I can post them on this blog.

Halftime of the NU-SU semifinal: Northwestern 7 Syracuse 6

This game has been pretty back and forth. It appeared Northwestern had seized the momentum in the last few minutes as it went up by two, but Syracuse junior Megan Mosenson scored a great goal right as she was hit with 1:53 left.

Looking around the stadium, the south half of the stands are near capacity, with the majority of them Northwestern fans. However, the north side of the stadium is only about half-filled, including the Syracuse fan section. Overall I'd say there's a smaller crowd then there was for last year's Final Four hosted at Franklin Field.

If you're into fight songs/college athletics atmosphere, you'd be happy. Despite none of the bands showing up, the PA system does play the scoring school's fight song after every goal.

Welcome to Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md., for the Final Four of the Division I Women's Lacrosse NCAA tournament. No. 2 Penn (16-1) will play unseeded Duke (13-7) in the second semifinal tonight at 8:30 p.m. Right now No.1 Northwestern (19-1) is playing No. 5 Syracuse (18-2) in the first semifinal of the night, a matchup that pits the first- and third-ranked offenses in the nation.

That game started off to a blistering start, as two goals were scored in the first 2:30 minutes. However the next 15 minutes only saw two goals total. After that the scoring picked back up, and now the score stands at 5-4 Orange with 7:43 to go. Northwestern clearly isn't going to coast to its fourth straight National Championship.