Junior goalie Bailey Bourque came up with three saves in the shootout as Campbell High knocked off Raymond in Thursday's girls soccer Division 3 State Semifinal.

RAYMOND – Pitcher vs. hitter? The shooter vs. goalie showdown in soccer penalty kicks is more like matador vs. bull.

Campbell’s Bailey Bourque is more bulldog, than bull. And the Cougars’ goalie stood so tall in Thursday evening’s state semifinal at Raymond High.

“My goalie coach always told me you just need one save, one save, and that’s all you need,” said the Campbell junior.

Against Raymond, Bourque came up with three (on nine Rams’ shots) to secure a home date with two-time defending champion Hopkinton Sunday (3 p.m.) for the Division III state title.

“It’s honestly insane, and you never get used to it,” said Bourque, who will be looking to help claim Campbell’s first state girls soccer since 2010. “Every game that we have a shootout, I get so nervous, it’s just crazy. The best thing is when your team just jumps up on you at the end of the game when you pull through and win it.”

The shootout ebbed and flowed through nine intense rounds with Campbell shooting first.

“I prefer being second, I like to see us get the momentum if we score first and we just pick it up from there,” Bourque said.

Of the first five to shoot, Cougars Alex Wallenmaier, Morgan Wagner, Hanna Keane and Karleigh Schultz all found the back of the net, but Raymond beat Bourque four times as well.

Emily Cooper was next, drilling her ball, setting up a personal roller-coaster ride for Bourque, who turned shooter in round 7 and hit the post then went back to work and kept the game moving on with her second save of the shootout.

Anais Smith netted a goal in round 8, and freshman Olivia Moreau was a cool customer in round 9, where Bourque said enough is enough.

“I think I saw which way (the Raymond shooter) was looking and I knew which way she was going, and it just pulled through,” she said of the sprawling game-clincher.

“That was a wonderful game. Raymond is such a strong opponent. I knew it would be a battle,” said Campbell coach Kevin Brassard.

The shootout was the topper in a brilliantly-contested 100-minute match that saw Raymond dominate the first half and Campbell own the second.

Each team had chances in OT but could not come through.

“We talked all week about coming out on fire. I provided candy on the bus to get their sugar going, but we just kind of came out sluggish,” said Brassard.

“We came out kind of flat in the first half, and then in the second we kind of took control. The girls played the way they have been all season, and what a comeback. It was a great game.”

Kathryn Lacasse put Raymond on the lead with a mid-first half goal.

Campbell just collected itself at the break and came out storming.

Still, it took a while, 34 minutes in fact, for the Cougars to find the equalizer.

And yes, there were plenty of tense moments on the Cougar bench.

“Absolutely. As the time is winding down, I was starting to panic,” said Brassard. “I’m starting to think about what changes we need to make, but I had confidence in the team, and they rewarded that.”

Finally, the breakthrough.

“Morgan (Wagner) had a great through ball on to Karleigh (Schultz). Karleigh got it past the goalie, and the striker (Gabrielle Kim-Levesque) just finished it up,” said the coach.

What a physical play that was by Schultz, who willed her way through the defense into the area.

“Karleigh is fantastic. She’s such a strong player,” said Brassard. “She’s so smart. She reads the game so well.”

Campbell’s defense was airtight all night long.

Wagner, Riley Barka, Wallenmaier and Cooper were near flawless on the back line in front of Bourque.

Now comes a huge challenge with Hopkinton, a 4-0 winner over Belmont on Thursday.

“We (must) keep this momentum, and we have four seniors (Schultz, Keane, Cooper and Abby Buxton) in the program for four years. They’re very, very strong. They’ve earned it,” said Brassard. “I’m excited to be there. It will be another good matchup for us.”

Newsletter