Being timid in soccer is just not a way to win games.

Pamerton came out slow in its Colonial League semifinal game against Saucon Valley, and learned quickly that something had to change.

That message was delivered by coach Dave O’Brien at halftime, and the players turned it into six unanswered goals on their way to a 7-2 win over the Panthers Thursday night at Catasauqua High School.

While the Blue Bombers were trying to get their bearings early on, Saucon Valley went to work and tallied the game’s first goal when Elliot Policare took a pass from Ava Riehl and placed it perfectly on goal and past goalie Emma Snyder to put the Panthers up 1-0.

“I really try not to let giving up a goal bring me down, and I knew that we still had the whole game ahead of us,” said Snyder. “I believe in the defenders in front of me, and I know our offense can get us goals, so we just have to keep playing.”

Palmerton (17-2) was turned away when Saucon goalkeeper Sarah Deibert made a diving save on a shot by Emma Martinez. A few minutes later, Beth Morgan fired a shot off a direct kick that carried over the crossbar, leaving the Bombers scoreless.

But with less than two minutes remaining in the half, Morgan was pulled down in the box and awarded a penalty kick that she easily converted to tie the game.

“In the first half, we were feeling really defeated, even though we weren’t losing,” said Julia Finley, who finished the game with two goals. “Our coach had some great words for us at halftime that really encouraged us to get out there.

“Once we got going, the goals just kept coming, and we knew we were going to win.”

O’Brien’s words at halftime led to a scoring onslaught for Palmerton that started when Ella Baumgardt found the net about nine minutes into the second half, giving the Bombers their first lead of the game. Three minutes later, Finley notched her first tally of the night off a corner kick to give Palmerton a 3-1 edge.

From there, Riley Gerhard made it 4-1, and Nataly Walters then fired a shot from the right side to make it a four-goal lead for the Bombers. Palmerton was awarded a free kick with 7:10 remaining in regulation, and Finley fired the shot past Deibert to put the Bombers up 6-1.

“We had a lot of intensity going at that point and the energy was so high, and I just sort of fed off that and put the shot into the net,” said Finley of her second goal.

The teams exchanged late goals when Riehl scored her 35th goal of the year for Saucon Valley, and Hannah Serfass finished off the scoring with a goal for the Blue Bombers to make it 7-2.

So, what were the magic words that O’Brien delivered at the half?

“I just told them to continue to play their game. We have been successful this year being aggressive, keeping possession of the ball and dictating the pace of the game,” said O’Brien. “I just told them to lean into what got them here, and they did that. That second half was incredible.”

NEW TERRITORY … The win over Saucon Valley (13-5) sends the Blue Bombers to their first-ever Colonial League championship, where they will meet Northwestern (13-4-1), who downed Southern Lehigh 3-0. The game will be played Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Catasauqua High School. Saucon Valley will wait for the start of districts, which get underway next week.

LOOKING BACK ... During the regular season, Northwestern downed the Bombers 4-0. The two teams might not be done with each other after Saturday’s championship game since they are both in the 2A classification and could meet again in districts.