A pulsating second leg was finally settled in extra time as Southend triumphed 3-1 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate.
Were it not for some excellent saves from Chris Day in the Stevenage goal and Barry Corr spurning two golden chances to score then Southend would have run out comfortable winners.
Corr missed a hotly disputed penalty in the final seconds of normal time as his effort hit the crossbar. Ultimately game changing substitutions by Southend swung the game in their favour as McLaughlin then Weston gave Southend more of a cutting edge as Stevenage were outplayed and wilted in extra time.
Next stop Wembley for the final against Wycombe.
