RallyNorth.net

Thu, May 29, 2008 04:00 PM @ Georgetown

Team	Final
Playoff Game North Division 2 - Round 2
Pentucket	9
Georgetown	15

Georgetown gets win over Pentucket

Friday, May, 30 By Evan Mugford
Staff writer

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.

The Royals (14-5) will meet the winner of last night's quarterfinal matchup between No. 7 Arlington and No. 15 Hamilton-Wenham. Pentucket (11-9) earned the right to play in the quarterfinal by upsetting No. 4 Bishop Fenwick, 19-14, Tuesday afternoon.

Georgetown's CAL Division 2 Player of the Year Shannon Hartford tallied six goals and six assists, giving her a total of 14 goals and eight assists in two tournament victory. The Royals also limited Pentucket's CAL Division 1 Player of the Year Sarah Galligan to one goal after she tallied a seven-goal, three-assist effort in the opening round. The Royals victory marked the second time they beat Pentucket this season; they also registered a 16-11 win on April 10.

"This was a great win for us," said Hartford. "They've been our rivals for a few years now, and we knew we were going to see them later on in the year. We were pumped for this game. We were talking and finding each other on the field. We're a very strong team defensively, and the way we've been communicating and playing as one, our success should continue."

The game started out with both teams getting reacquainted with one another's style. A save by Sachem goalie Hillary Dandurant (12 saves) in the opening minute seemed to build the Sachem defensive confidence, but the Royals were equally sharp on the defense, stifling a patient Sachems attack. Both teams traded possessions and Royals goalie April Surette (14 saves) made a quality save at the 20:29 mark. But two minutes later, the Sachems struck first off a nice rebound by K.C. Jones (1 goal, 1 assist). Three minutes later, the Sachems extended their lead when Galligan netted her lone goal.

Though the Sachems looked to be executing with more precision, the Royals never flinched, and rallied off four consecutive goals thanks to Hartford and Kelly Burke (2 goals, 1 assist). Pentucket answered with a Calley Yocum  score at the 7:45 mark.

Georgetown added four more goals before the half | three of which came in the last minute. Hartford and Emily Messelaar (3 assists) combined at 7:34, Alyssa Rosenthal (1 goal) and Hartford produced a transition goal with 51 seconds remaining, Hartford swung in a scoop shot with 37 seconds remaining, and a Kristen Pingree (2 goals) and Hartford connection resulted in the final tally with 20 seconds remaining, giving the Royals an 8-3 halftime lead.

The second half didn't begin so well for the Sachems, when at 23:41, Georgetown defenseman Katherine Falzareno (1 goal) bounced it by Dandurant. Then Michelle Reilly (1 goal) notched the Royals' 10th goal with 21 minutes on the clock, prompting a Pentucket timeout.

The Royals added two more after the break thanks to the combinations of Meghan Makiver (1 goal) and Messelaar at 20:39, and Robyn Scotti (1 goal) and Hartford at 19:14.

Trailing 12-3, Pentucket then scored three goals in three minutes. Autumn Gadd (1 goal) started the run at 16:16. At the 13:56 mark, Jones passed to Breanna Yocum  (2 goals) for another goal. Zoe McKenzie added the final tally at 13:10.

Burke found Hartford for the eventual run stopper, and with time on the Royals side, trading goals and burning down the clock was all Georgetown needed to do.

Pentucket added three more goals down the stretch (Sarah Evers, Lyndsay Beaton, and Breanna Yocum), but the Royals added two of their own (Hartford, and a Pingree/Messelaar combo).

"We dug ourselves a hole that we just couldn't get out of," said Pentucket coach Bob Pierce. "And once we started to make our comeback, it was just too high of a mountain to climb."

Royals coach Heather Hartford was pleased with her team's execution.

"I think we controlled the game from the start, which was is what we aimed to accomplish," explained Hartford. "I asked my team to play smart lacrosse from the start, to play as a team and to give everything they had, and they did that. It was a true team effort and I'm very proud of them."