Campbell forward Luke Delia, shown here during last week's prelim win over Inter-Lakes, had a goal and an assist in the Cougars; Division III semifinal win over Bishop Brady Monday in Laconia. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

LACONIA – In the quarterfinals, No. 10 Bishop Brady proved that seeds don’t matter. In the semifinals, Campbell showed the same thing about age.

On a pitch loaded with experienced veterans, freshman Luke Delia set up senior teammate Eric Coates for a goal in the 37th minute and Delia netted one of his own in the 43rd to lead the No. 3 Cougars (16-2-1) to a 2-0 victory over the Giants (11-7-1) in the Division III boys soccer semifinals on Monday at Bank of New Hampshire Stadium.

As a result, the Cougars will take on defending champion No. 4 Trinity (14-3-1) in Friday night’s championship game scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff at Bank of New Hampshire Stadium. The Pioneers, in the later semi, handed top-ranked Gilford (18-1) its first loss of the season with a 2-1 overtime victory, a rematch of last year’s finals.

Bishop Brady threw everything it had on the Campbell net in the last eight minutes of the match. Senior co-captain Evan Haas sent several deep balls into Cougar territory to sophomore striker Keagan Adams-Smith, who had a goal called back in the 75th minute after an offsides ruling. Adams-Smith also hit the crossbar in the 77th after receiving a beautiful cross from junior midfielder Jack Beauchesne just yards in front of the goal, and senior co-captain Miles Lavoie put a header on goal off a well-placed corner kick in the 79th.

Despite being the No. 10 seed, nobody was going to overlook the Giants after they ousted No. 2 Hopkinton 3-2 in overtime in the quarterfinals, especially a Campbell team that had already played Brady twice in the regular season – 2-0 on Sept. 8 and 4-3 on Oct. 5.

“Bishop Brady is a quality team,” said Campbell head coach Brian Henderson. “I knew that could be a battle. I knew they could be a problem for people sneaking in as a lower seed. We played them twice this year. We know them well. They’re a physical team. They have (Haas) in the middle.”

The Giants played their game early, getting more chances on net despite Campbell having more possession in the attacking third.

Brady played well on the counterattack, eventually resulting in Adams-Smith firing a shot from distance with pace that Campbell senior keeper Jack Noury (four saves) punched away. Brady sophomore forward Jonas Baia was there to collect the rebound and took another shot that Noury stopped.

The Cougars only got two shots on goal in the first half, but made the attempt in the 37th minute count when Delia held the ball at the top right of the penalty box and made a nice spin move to lay it off to Coates who one-timed it past junior goalie Max Brooks (one save) for a 1-0 halftime lead.

Campbell wasted no time in the second half, with Delia striking a beautiful left-footed finish to the far, low corner goal post past junior goalie Liam Masner (two saves, played in Brady net in the second half) with defenders closely marking him.

“There’s 12 seniors, 11 juniors, he’s surrounded by older guys, but he just competes,” Henderson said. “He’s as big as the varsity boys and he can handle the physicality. He’s got game. He’s got foot skills. He can finish. He can hit a hard shot. He proved that tonight.”

Senior Sal Aubin did a good job protecting the right flank and Haas sent several long balls into Campbell territory, but the Giants couldn’t get any final touches on the ball until a ferocious effort in the last eight minutes resulted in some chances.

Sophomore defender Will Caliri and senior back Ryan Latsha were especially strong on Campbell’s back line, breaking up several Brady attempts down the stretch.

“I’m super proud of the backline,” Henderson said. “We’ve been working together a lot. Working on the line, working on the line. And today we got the shutout. We were able to hold the shutout in our first two (playoff games). We’ve been building all year, and so far our defense hasn’t let up a goal. Jack has played great in net.”

The loss ends the season for the Brady players and first-year coach Jordan Misiri, who came on board after the preseason had already started when the Giants didn’t have a coach. They only had a few days to get to know each other before matches started, but the squad impressed Misiri early and the team easily surpassed last year’s 6-4 record and elimination in the preliminary round.

“I just expressed to them that we had a great season,” Misiri said. “Sometimes you lose some. That’s the nature of the game, but they should focus on their accomplishment.”

Meanwhile, the Cougars will now try to accomplish something else — a third championship in the last four years.

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