By ADAM SHINDER

For the Express

STILLWATER — Christopher Edwards stepped up to his new job as the Northville High School girls soccer coach this year knowing that not one of his players had ever ended their season with anything less than a Section II Class D championship patch to add to their collections.

He wanted to live up to tradition.

Tuesday at Warrior Park, Edwards got everything he could ask for, as the Lady Falcons got a goal from Ashley Ferguson midway through the first half, then two more in the game’s waning minutes to seal a 3-0 win over Sharon Springs and clinch Northville’s fourth straight sectional title.

“We have a group of 10 seniors that have worked their butts off,” Edwards said. “Some of them have been on the varsity since ninth grade. They’ve been a family. That’s what we keep calling ourselves this year is a family.”

There was plenty of love to spread around Tuesday for the Lady Falcons. As each player turned around after receiving their championship patch, Edwards was there to greet them with an open-armed hug.

“We’re so close. We’re legitimately a family,” said Northville goalkeeper Kristi Bills. “There’s no drama, there’s nothing. It’s just family.”

No. 1 seed Northville tried to put an end to the drama early against the seventh-seeded Lady Spartans, dominating possession throughout the opening 15 minutes, though they were unable to put a serious threat on Sharon Springs keeper Karla Weyant.

But, with 18 minutes gone, the Lady Falcons finally struck, as a long ball played over the Sharon Springs defense bounced right to Ferguson’s feet for a clinical finish past Weyant. Northville nearly doubled the lead six minutes later with a flurry in the six-yard box, but Georgianna Maye’s shot rattled off the post and Weyant denied Ferguson’s attempt to  the rebound.

It was a perfect start for a Northville team that posted a 1-0 win against Sharon Springs earlier this season despite controlling much of the game.

“We knew that we did not bring it 100 percent the first time we played them,” Bills said. “Today, we definitely brought it 110 percent.”

However, the Lady Spartans — as they have during a playoff run in which they upset No. 2 seed Heatly and No. 3 seed Fort Ann to reach the final — fired back, frustrating Northville’s attack and turning the game into a constant struggle to maintain possession.

Sharon Springs had its best chance of equalizing with eight minutes to play in regulation when Diana Han broke free, but Bills cut off her angle and swallowed up the shot. Two minutes later, Maye’s cross created a scramble in the box that allowed Madalyn Ryan to eventually stuff in the goal and give the Lady Falcons some breathing room.

Fifty seconds later, Maye made it 3-0, ensuring that the Lady Falcons would tie the program record of four straight sectional titles.