Mahwah's defense kept Montclair scoreless through the final 23 minutes of the game.

The Mounties held a five-goal lead with 17 minutes remaining in Wednesday's Stars and Stripes Conference battle, but the Thunderbirds slowly chipped away until the game was tied with five minutes left.

After another defensive stop, Mahwah had the ball with 2:21 remaining and looked to hold it until the final minute of the game. But instead of going to the play it set up, Haley Doran charged the cage with a Montclair defender out to pressure the ball, and on her drive she found Olivia Huss for the game-winning goal and the 9-8 win on senior day.

"We spread out but it kind of got messed up," Huss said. "Things never go as planned, so Haley goes up top and we're all spread out. Haley presses because the girl was right up on her and when that happens you obviously have to press the goal. When she did that I just did a little slip underneath and she just saw me. It was like telepathy. It was just right there at the perfect time."

Added Doran: "Honestly, in the heat of the moment you're not even thinking, you're just going. At that point I just went. Then I looked up and I saw Olivia wide open. You just know and you just throw it. And then she scored and it was the best feeling ever."

With the state cutoff a day away and the tournament set to start next week, Mahwah was gunning for the win to improve its seeding. The Thunderbirds ended their season in the sectional semifinals last season.

"To start, it's our senior day so that makes it so much more gratifying," Huss said. "Coming off our (15-6) loss to Morristown we were kind of down in the dumps because it was kind of a bad loss. Going into states we really wanted to come out with momentum, and today we really showed that we can pull through against any team."

Goalie Brooke Proietto came up big for Mahwah in the second half, making four of her six saves in the final period, including a stop on an 8-meter attempt to keep it a two-goal game in the final seven minutes.

"I didn't have my luck with 8-meters in the beginning, and to get a stop for the team really hypes you up," Proietto said. "It's a great feeling to get a stop for everybody, especially in a close game like that."

Doran found Deanna Ciliento for a transition score following the save, and Doran tallied her third assist of the game by finding Hannah McNamara for the tying score with 5:02 remaining, shortly after Mahwah's second draw control of the half.

But that comeback only happened because of the stellar play of Mahwah's defense, which faced a 14-5 disadvantage on the draw -- losing 8 of 10 in the second half -- but still held Montclair off the scoresheet.

"That came from a lot of energy and excitement," Doran said. "When we pressure the ball we know we're risking it, but you just have to get up on it and try to stop it. With that much time left you have to do whatever you can to get the ball back and get that win."

Added Mahwah coach Brian Girardi: "We have two types of defenses we play when we try to shut someone off so we played one variation the first half, and it was working until that final minute, and then when they started beating us on cuts in the second half we decided we needed a little more pressure on ball and switched it up."

Montclair opened the game with a two-goal run, and went into halftime with a 6-3 lead thanks to four straight goals over the final eight minutes of the half.

Missy Wrede, Nora Giordano, Yael Gelman and Nanette-Rose Walls-Tarver scored the four goals, with Katie Giordano and Gelman scoring two more through the first two minutes of the second half to build that five-goal lead.

The offense dried up after that, though, with Mahwah's defensive adjustment and the loss of under-the-radar star Wrede.

"When Missy went out with the asthma attack, we adjusted and had the lead, but in the second half we missed her greatly," Montclair coach Ann Jennings said. "Our offense just didn't move the ball enough. We just held on to it too long.

"(Wrede) is a true unsung hero. She makes an impact on offense and defense, and while I don't think we missed her right away because of an adjustment, I think ultimately we missed her. She's such a smart player. She reads what's going to happen next, anticipates a lot and gets a lot of interceptions. She helps sets up plays and is good in transition."

Doran led Mahwah with five points on two goals and three assists, Huss and Ciliento each had two goals, and Hannah McNamara, Eliza McNamara and Emily Kastens each had a goal.

Evan Slavit may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @EvanSlavitHS. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.