The Northwestern girls soccer team has a group of seniors who always seem to come up big in critical moments.

The Lady Tigers stars shone the brightest under the stormy Salisbury stadium lights in their Colonial League championship clash with Saucon Valley last Thursday.

A series of late game heroics earned the Lady Tigers a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the Lady Panthers and the 2014 Colonial League title.

After a scoreless first half, Saucon Valley's Paige Jones took a counter attack up the field and finished in the corner of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead early in the second half.

"We couldn't really double-team anyone because of all of their (Northwestern's) weapons," said Saucon Valley head coach Stevie Ochse. "It was a back and forth game. We definitely had opportunities to get the win and it just didn't fall our way."

The Lady Tigers out shot the Lady Panthers by a considerable margin, but just couldn't seem to find the back of the net. Most of the opportunities were contested, as Saucon Valley clung to a late one-goal advantage until the final two minutes of regulation.

"As the minutes were rolling down, I wasn't sure what was going to happen," said Northwestern head coach Kelly Bleam. "I'll be the first to say that I thought we were going to come up unlucky tonight. Saucon played a fantastic game and kept us out of the goal. I felt like we were playing well enough to have some goals and it just didn't happen for quite some time."

With just over a minute remaining, Northwestern applied constant pressure as it had done for most of the contest. After returning into the game following a yellow card, Sabrina Mertz earned a free kick from about 20 yards from the net.

Mertz blasted the ball into the upper 90 of the net. Northwestern was finally on the board and fittingly headed to overtime after a gutsy goal by the Northwestern senior.

"This group of young ladies are a tremendous team," Bleam said. "I know we have some main point earners, but this team as a whole is truly the heart of what makes us successful. Every single person contributes. We use every single member of our team to possess the ball and I think that sets the girls apart."

Saucon Valley did a fantastic job marking Lady Tiger star forward Sarah Segan for much of the game. As the game wore on, the Lady Panthers wore down and Segan saw more touches within striking distance.

As the clock showed four minutes left in the first extra session, Segan received a throw-in at her feet. She took a few dribbles toward the middle of the box and sent a rocket top shelf to end the game and give Northwestern the win.

"She finally was able to get ahold of the ball the way I know she could and get off a 'Sarah Segan type shot,'" said Bleam. "Sabrina and Sarah are going to play college soccer for a reason. Those two girls and Angela (Motolese) have created so many awesome things for the team tonight and throughout the season for us."

"The way we lost was disappointing with less than two minutes on the clock," Ochse said. "Unfortunately, we gave up a goal late. It was a great shot and there was nothing we could do about it. We were fatigued in overtime and they hit another quality shot to beat us."

The loss was Saucon Valley's first to a Colonial League opponent this season. Both schools qualified for district competition that will start next week. Bleam is proud of her girls and looking forward to the upcoming challenge.

"This was certainly one of our goals coming into the season," she said. "Contending and coming away the win in the league championship is a great accomplishment, but it's just the first step."