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| P'burg ended its season 4-15-2 after a tough start. |
"It's been an ongoing theme all season," said Popinko, whose team was looking to get back to the sectional semifinals for the second time in her three seasons at the helm after a first-round playoff exit in 2018. "We come out very strong, and then we lose it. It's a learning process. We are a very young team and we'll keep working for next year."
Devlin, whose aunt, Katie, was a star player for Phillipsburg in the mid-1980s, gave the 'Liners a 1-0 lead when she redirected a nice shot by senior Erin Fisher on a penalty corner with just 19 seconds on the clock before halftime. Fisher, who received the ball in the upper left corner of the circle, fired it toward the cage and Devlin tipped it in past Montclair goalie Amanda Murnick, who later left the game with an apparent left shoulder injury, for her third goal of the season and 10th of her career.
"Everything fell into place. It was a beautiful shot by Erin Fisher," Devlin said. "I couldn't have asked for a better shot."
P'burg scored all four of its postseason goals off penalty corners, including two by sweeper Morgan Barna, one of four starting seniors, in the win over Livingston. Barna said after Monday's game that corners have given the 'Liners trouble all season, but working on them in recent practices certainly paid off.
"Something was clicking the past two games," Devlin said. "We've worked hard on them, even on defense."
Montclair (14-5-1), which was on its heels for most of the first half, caught an early break nearly four minutes after halftime as a Phillipsburg defender was called for deliberately hitting the ball out of the circle. A penalty stroke was awarded, and sophomore Phoebe Campbell beat P'burg goalie Tatum McVey to the left corner of the cage to tie the score at 1.
Popinko disagreed with the stroke call, which swung the momentum toward the hosts.
"It should have been a corner," Popinko said. "When a sure goal is blocked that way, it's a stroke. When we have faced a little adversity this season, we haven't responded. That probably comes with maturity, but we need to keep playing there."
Montclair grabbed its first lead just 2:26 later, when sophomore Sydney Kovel got loose on a breakaway at midfield and scored 21 seconds after Popinko had called a timeout with 23:50 to play.
Campbell basically iced it with her second goal of the game off a corner with 12:24 to go. P'burg managed its only shot-on-goal in the second half with 26 seconds to play, while Montclair scored on its only three shots in the final 30 minutes.
"The second half, we didn't do what we needed to do. We played reactive," Popinko said. "One thing about this team is they do fight every game. One thing I love is that P'burg has that grit."
Montclair, which won the last of its 12 sectional titles in 2015, has given P'burg fits over the last two decades in the postseason, including a 6-0 loss in the 2016 sectional quarterfinals. The 'Liners haven't reached a final since 2010 and will look to end its sectional title drought -- winning their fourth and last championship in 1999 -- next season.
Perhaps most disappointing is that P'burg recently played top-seeded Ridge to a 1-1 tie last Thursday, showing marked improvement after a 4-0 loss in the first Skyland Conference Raritan Division meeting with the Red Devils on Sept. 24.
"We fought until the end," Devlin said. "This is something we'll definitely keep in the back of our minds for next year. We're a young team and we got better and better."
Phillipsburg (4-15-2) 1 0 -- 1
Montclair (14-5-1) 0 3 -- 3
Scoring
First half -- P, Allison Devlin, 3rd, (Erin Fisher), 0:19.
Second half -- M, Phoebe Campbell, 13th, (penalty stroke), 26:05; M, Sydney Kovel, 3rd, 23:39; M, Campbell, 14th, 12:24.
Shots -- Phillipsburg 4; Montclair 4.
Saves -- Tatum McVey 1 (P); Amanda Murnick 2, Sadie Reynolds 1 (M).
Penalty corners -- Phillipsburg 6; Montclair 6.
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