It felt destined for penalty kicks. And as the second overtime wore on in the first of two Class M girls' soccer semifinals yesterday at Merrimack Valley High School, Belmont Coach Jim White began preparing for that eventuality.

"I said to myself, 'I'm going to get my list out if it gets to 10 minutes.' Just to double-check it," White said. "And we had practiced it. We went 13 rounds in our mock penalty shots in practice, so we were ready."

Turns out that practice wasn't needed. With 11:14 left in the second 20-minute overtime period, Campbell's Shawna Trunca's left-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box snaked inside the right post to give the No. 2 Cougars (15-3) a 1-0 win over No. 6 Belmont (13-5) and a spot in Friday's final against No. 1 Fall Mountain.

"When the ball came in the middle I just looked up to see if anyone was on me and then I realized no one was on me, so I took a touch and then I just shot," said Trunca, who has 30 goals this year. "It was more of a blind shot, but I can picture the goal."

"That's a really awesome player," White said of Trunca. "She's fast, sees the field well and has great skills. And she strikes the ball hard."

Trunca and the rest of the Cougar offense had the territorial and possession edge for the entire game, and outshot Belmont, 19-8. But most of those shots never found Belmont keeper Courtney Clary (seven saves) as the Red Raider back line continually denied the Cougars the final touch or bit of space.

Regulation saw many near misses from both sides. In the 36th minute Clary came off her line and Trunca slipped behind her, but Belmont back Davita Elliott, who was outstanding all game, stopped Trunca's shot. Four minutes later, Belmont's Sammy White found Ginny Rice, who ripped a shot only to see it bounce off the post.

Campbell's Olivia Planty hit the post three minutes into the second half and moments later teammate Casey Mellen hammered a shot from 30 yards out that caromed off the crossbar.

Momentum shifted in the latter stages of the second half as the Raiders pushed into the Campbell end. Belmont's Mikaela Guertin worked the right wing beautifully and fed multiple crosses into the middle, but nothing would click. Freshman forward MCKenzie Phelps had two good chances late in the second half, but both times Campbell sweeper Liz Pettis thwarted her.

In the end it just wasn't meant to be for the Raiders, but that wasn't for lack of effort.

"We came as close to our potential as possible," White said. "They gave every ounce of energy they had. We have kids who should be home in bed sick and they were out there and injured and they were just all heart tonight. I am very proud to be part of it."

NO. 1 FALL MOUNTAIN 2, NO. 4 PROSPECT MOUNTAIN 1

They overcame a one-goal halftime deficit, they controlled the latter 40 minutes and they had a 7-4 shot advantage. Despite all that, No. 4 Prospect Mountain (13-4-1) could not dethrone the defending champs.

Top-seeded Fall Mountain (16-2) scored with just 6:17 left in the game to earn a 2-1 win over the Timberwolves and a chance to defend its crown Friday against Campbell.

"I think (experience) gave (Fall Mountain) an edge, sure," Prospect Coach Matt Locke said. "We have a lot of youth - six sophomores and one freshman starting - so that bodes well for the future."

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