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Sectional Scoreboard

GIRLS SOCCER

Section II?

Class D Championship

Northville 2, Whitehall 1 (2 OT)

Class B?Championship

Mechanicville 0, Stillwater 0

Mechanicville advances on PKs

Class A?Championship

Burnt Hills 1, South Glens Falls 0

Class AA?Semifinals

Bethlehem 2, Saratoga Springs 1 (3 OT)

Shenendehowa 2, Niskayuna 0

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BROADALBIN - For the fifth time in as many years, the Northville girls soccer team found itself playing for the Section II Class D title on Friday night at Broadalbin-Perth High School.

For the second straight season, the Lady Falcons claimed the crown.

Northville edged Whitehall, 2-1, after two overtimes to punch its ticket to regionals for a second straight year.

"We're excited to win it again," Northville coach Shelley Murphy said. "It's the first time in school history we've won it back-to-back."

The Lady Falcons also were able to honor the memory of former teammate Chelsea Lott, who died earlier this season after a battle with brain cancer.

"We've been playing for her," Murphy said. "It's really nice to be able to win it for her."

"Winning for Chelsea [Lott] makes it that much better," said sophomore Madalyn Ryan, who scored the game-winning goal.

Ryan's game winner came with 4:46 remaining in the second 10-minute overtime.

Ryan's shot looked like it was going to be handled by Whitehall keeper Katie Paddock (8 saves), but it caromed off the head of a Whitehall defender and into the net.

"I don't know how it got in the net, but it felt really good when it went in," Ryan said. "We were all cold and tired. so it felt great to finally pull it out."

Solving Whitehall's defense was a problem throughout for Northville, which outshot the Railroaders by a 19-5 margin but only had one goal to show for it after 90 minutes of play.

"Whitehall played a lot of players in the back on defense," Murphy said. "It was tough for us. They had a very good defense."

In the first half, Northville held a 10-3 edge in shots, but the game went into the half tied a 0-0.

Ryan had several chances in the opening half for the Lady Falcons, but all just missed the mark. Mary Ryan and Crystal Pertell also had chances for Northville.

Though it only had three first-half shots, Whitehall nearly cashed in on one of them with 5:51 to go in the half when Brittany St. Clair hit the right post.

Northville broke the scoreless tie with 25:48 remaining in the second half when Francesca Robinson scored the game's first goal.

Whitehall evened the score 6:44 later when Desirea McKee scored to make it 1-1.

The game remained tied through regulation and the first 10-minute overtime before Madalyn Ryan's goal won it for the Lady Falcons, who have now won six straight games.

"We've really come together at the end of the season. We had a little bit of a rocky start," Murphy said.

Alex Sheils made just three saves to earn the win in goal for Northville (8-11-0 overall), which now awaits the date, time and site of its regional contest.

"We showed a lot of heart and character," Murphy said. "We're psyched about going to regionals again. I hope playing in regionals last year will help us this year."

Whitehall, which was making its first Class D title game appearance since 2001, ends its season with a 7-6-4 overall record.