The Northwestern and Southern Lehigh girls’ soccer teams are no strangers to success.

The two programs have combined to win the last three Colonial League tournament titles, with the Spartans topping the Tigers for last year’s crown.

Back-to-back championships seemed unlikely for Southern Lehigh, which lost many of its top play makers from last season’s squad.

These Spartans might not be last year’s team. But Tuesday night, they proved they still know how to get the job done.

Southern Lehigh’s newcomers showed their mettle in the Colonial League semifinal, topping Northwestern 2-1 by converting four penalty kicks to the Tigers’ three to earn a spot in the championship game for the second straight year.

“Last year, we won the whole thing and this year we came back pretty depleted,” said Spartans’ head coach Doug Roncolato. “We preached to the girls all year that you have to keep working, it’s the end of the season that matters.

“And we’ve made a point that we didn’t sneak into this. We actually earned our way into the tournament and we deserved to be here. We came out full guns and the girls believed in themselves, and now we’re playing for the championship.”

Kristen Cocozza, Hailey Jordan and Melinda Gluck nailed Southern Lehigh’s first three attempts in the penalty kick round.

Northwestern converted three of its five shots, as Catherine Willis, Sara Hathaway and Karlie Bardonner scored for the Tigers, who opened the shootout round.

But Emily Donnelly gave the third-seeded Spartans (10-2-0 Colonial League) the win when she drilled the ball into the back of the net in the fifth round of penalty kicks.

“I’m disappointed for the girls,” Northwestern head coach Kelly Bleam said of the loss. “They played well. They scored one more than we did, and that’s that. I’m disappointed for the girls. I felt like they deserved to win the game.”

A penalty kick provided the only score in the first half, as Jordan converted 17 seconds before the intermission to give Southern Lehigh a 1-0 lead.

“We got it on a PK, but we got it because of hard work,” Roncolato said. “I had a forward who made a heck of a run on that play and she forced them to foul.

“And that was our point at halftime: We’re working really hard and it’s paying dividends, so keep it up.”

The second-seeded Tigers (15-3-1 overall; 10-1-1 CL) adjusted in the second half to neutralize the Spartans’ attack and keep them off the scoreboard.

Northwestern finally broke through when Abigail Chisdak scored on an assist from Jessica Williamson with 10 minutes remaining in the second half to tie the game at 1-1.

“We made some pretty big adjustments in the shape and the personnel – where people were playing – and it definitely worked in our favor,” Bleam said.

Both sides had opportunities in the two 15 minute overtime periods, though neither was able to come away with a goal.

“We had some good chances in overtime, too,” said Bleam. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish them.”

Though the cast of characters is different, Roncolato is confident his newcomers have learned what it takes to come through in big moments.

They certainly showed they could Tuesday.

“My seniors learned what it meant to win last year,” he said. “And they pushed the other kids along, and that’s a very big thing.

“It’s a culture that some other schools have had for years, and it’s something we’re trying to build. This went a long way toward doing that.”

Southern Lehigh will face No. 4 seed Salisbury Thursday for the title. The Falcons knocked off top-seeded Saucon Valley in the other semifinal, a game also decided in a penalty shootout.

Southern Lehigh defeated Northwestern 3-1 in the teams’ first meeting this season on Sept. 16.