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In an absolute dynamite of a game, No. 6 Georgetown defeated No. 7 Arlington, 22-21 in overtime, in the Division 2 North semifinals.

The Royals will play No. 4 Winchester, which defeated North Andover, in the final.

As lacrosse teams statewide continue to vie for state championships, a pair of Cape Ann League rivals met yesterday with an EMass. Division 2 North semifinal berth at stake.

The No. 6 seed Georgetown girls lacrosse team extended its winning streak to seven games with a 15-9 victory over No. 14 Pentucket.

 On the opening day of state tournament play, Shannon Hartford showed Westford Academy why she was the Cape Ann League Division 2 player of the year.

Scoring eight goals and assisting on two others, Hartford had a hand in all but one of No. 6 seed Georgetown's goals in an 11-10 victory over No. 11 Westford Academy in the EMass. Division 2 North opening round.

Armed with the knowledge that a win would clinch at least a share of the CAL Division 2 title, and a win and a Triton loss would synch the title outright, Georgetown was unrelenting on senior day scoring its highest goal total of the season to put away North Reading, 20-9.

Georgetown (10-4) overcame a 6-3 halftime deficit to take sole possession of the lead in the Cape Ann League Division 2 standings. Shannon Hartford notched four goals and four assists for the Royals. Alyssa Rosenthal added two goals. Michelle Reilly had a goal and an assist. Kelly Burke, Emily Messelaar and Kristen Pingree scored a goal each. April Surrett made 10 saves. Pauline Reilly and Katherine Falzereno played well defensively according to Royals coach Heather Hartford.

Shannon Hartford netted four goals and two assists in Georgetown's state-tournament clinching victory. Kelly Burke added three goals and an assist for the Royals (9-4). Kristen Pingree, Emma Cannon, Michelle Reilly and Alyssa Rosenthal added one goal each. Kate Grosslein had an assist. April Surrette made 11 saves. Royals coach Heather Hartford cited the defensive efforts of Robyn Scotti, Katherine Falzareno and Rosenthal.

The Hornets got back to .500 with the victory, as they improved to 4-4 with a 13-9 win over Georgetown.

Haley Irwin led the way with four goals and junior Annie Osborne, who recently came back from injury, added two goals and two assists.

North Andover took and early lead and held on to beat Georgetown, 14-12. Caroline Barclay and Hannah Lategan had three goals each for the Knights, while Shannon Hartford netted five for Georgetown.

In the first six games of the girls lacrosse season, one clear-cut theme has unfolded in the River Rival region | royalty reigns supreme. The Georgetown Royals to be specific.

Although talk of a coronation might be premature, the Royals' leading lady and top scorer, Shannon Hartford, certainly looks to be one of the top Cape Ann League talents, amassing 46 points thus far after notching another seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in yesterday's 10-7 win over Newburyport.

Coach: Heather Harford (third year)

Last season: 15-5

Key players: Shannon Hartford, jr.; Kelly Burke, jr.; Kaela Barta, sr.; Katherine Falzareno, sr.; April Surette, jr.