The No. 6 University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team clawed its way back from an 11-6 deficit to tie No. 12 Northwestern and send Sunday's Easter special at Franklin Field to overtime. However, the Wildcats were able to escape Philly with a 12-11 decision in a superb game between top-15 programs. Selena Lasota scored the winner for NU with 1:12 left in the second extra session, breaking down her defender to get in close and then pushing a shot past Penn goalkeeper Mikaila Cheeseman. It was Lasota's fifth goal of the day. The Quakers are now 8-2 on the year, while the Wildcats improved to 9-3 and earned their third win over a ranked opponent this week. Northwestern opened the scoring on Sunday, but just 1:35 after the Wildcats dented the net Penn got on the board when Emily Rogers-Healion finished an assist from Zoe Belodeau. Northwestern went back in front on Lasota's first goal, one that was answered just 50 seconds later by Gabby Rosenzweig off another Belodeau feed. It was after that the Wildcats achieved separation, scoring six straight goals from five different goal scorers to go up 8-2. However, Penn was able to whittle the deficit in half in the final four minutes of the opening period. Elyse Decker ended a nearly 17-minute drought on a feed from Rogers-Healion, and then Erin Barry made it 8-4 with 2:42 left in the half when Belodeau found her cutting down the chute and Barry converted the feed. The big goal came with just four seconds left in the period, however, when Chelsea Kibler punctuated a desperation clear by the Quakers by racing down the left side and rocketing a shot from some distance that found the lower netting just inside the far post. The score was 8-5 at halftime. That momentum was not sustained in the early part of the second half, thanks mostly to the goalkeeping efforts on NU keeper Julie Krupstein. Instead, it was Northwestern who opened the second-half scoring when Lasota netted her fourth of the day 6:20 into the period. A little more than five minutes after that, the Wildcats had once again doubled the Quakers' score when Claire Quinn took a nice feed from Lindsey McKone near the left post and deposited a shot past Penn keeper Mikaila Cheeseman. Penn got one of those goals back with 17:25 left in regulation when Belodeau converted a Rosenzweig feed, but nearly three minutes later the Cats answered with a Danita Stroup finish. Belodeau got the comeback started by netting her second of the day less than a minute after Stroup's goal to make the score 11-7, and then Alex Condon scored with 8:31 left to get the Red and Blue within three. It was 11-9 with 7:22 to play after Rogers-Healion faked a pass up top and then drove past her defender to convert from short range, and then Rosenzweig made it a one-goal game at 11-10 when she cut sharply in front and Condon found her from up top. It wasn't until the final seconds of the contest that Quakers completed the comeback, as Barry scored on a free-position goal from right out front with just 11 seconds left which sent the game to OT. Both teams had shots in the first extra session but could not connect. Northwestern then won the draw to start the second overtime period, and the Wildcats never relinquished the ball before Lasota's winner. Both goalies had strong days in the net, as Krupnick finished the day with 12 saves and Cheeseman made 11 in the Penn cage. Up Next Penn begins a five-game stretch against Ivy League competition to close out the regular season next Saturday, with a noon start at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.