LYNN – The Swampscott girls soccer team saw its quest for a Division 3 North championship come to a halt on Monday at Manning Field as No. 9 North Reading got a second-half goal from Rachel Hill and then rode stingy defense to make it hold up for the 1-0 victory.The Hornets, who had upset defending state champion Newburyport in double overtime in the previous round, will play Lynnfield at Manning at 2 pm on Saturday in the North final.”It was a nice game,” Swampscott coach Ken Leeder said. “It was well played and we had a feeling that it was going to be 1-0. We had our chances and didn’t cash them in while they did.”For the Hornets (13-6-2) having Hill use her blazing speed to run onto a long pass kept with the gameplan that coach Sean Killeen had planned.”We play tight defense and then we are smart about taking our chances,” Killeen said. “That was a beautiful goal by Rachel and it shows what we are all about.”Both teams’ offenses struggled to get a consistent attack going in the first half as the midfields controlled the pace of play.The No. 5 Big Blue (15-6-1) had the game’s first good chance in the ninth minute but Meghan Hartmann’s bid was stopped by a diving Katerina Hassapis. It proved to be the only quality shot that Swampscott generated in the first 40 minutes.At the other end of the field, Sam Rizzo also wasn’t tested sternly as she stopped all four shots that she faced. North Reading’s best chance came off the foot of Hill midway through the half but she airmailed it over the crossbar as the teams headed to the half in a scoreless deadlock.The sense early on had been that one goal very likely could win the game for either side and in the second half, both teams began to step up the intensity.Despite bodies flying all over the place at times, there were very few stoppages as each team looked for an opening to get on the board. The Big Blue had the best chance in the opening minutes of the second as Hartmann dribbled into the box and took a shot that was gobbled up by Hassapis at the right post.Just over four minutes later, the Hornets showed the blazing speed they had up front.Marissa Zarrella sent a pass up field from the 50. Hill simply ran past her defender and then beat Rizzo to the ball for a chip into an empty net with 24:29 left to go.The Big Blue continued to look for a way through the seven-player back line that the Hornets employed once they got the lead. But North Reading was able to keep all Swampscott’s shots to the outside and were able to clinch their spot in the sectional final.”We did have a really good year,” Leeder said. “We had some good chances and just didn’t finish them. That’s what you need to do in games like these.