Despite injuries, an early season transfer and one of New Jersey’s toughest schedules, the Mounties are playing with the hand they’ve been dealt.

And each match, the Mounties are pushing all of their chips to the middle of the table in the form of effort.

"We are banged up and thin, and there is a lesson to be learned from this. Sports aren’t necessarily life, but this is a great life-lesson," Montclair coach Chris Johnson said. "You can’t plan everything, so once you evaluate your situation, you adjust to work with what you have.

"The girls have done a great job of following through with that on the field."

All is certainly not lost for MHS nearly midway through its season. The Mounties entered their match yesterday with Immaculate Heart Academy, No. 2 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, with a 6-3 record. Win or lose, the locals have a winnable road match tomorrow against Paterson Eastside. It isn’t a vintage Montclair record, yet 7-4 after 11 matches is more than reasonable, considering the bumps in the road this season.

As the top seed on Sunday, the locals will face third-seeded Millburn at 1 p.m. on the Nutley Oval in the semifinals of the Essex County Tournament (ECT). Montclair has won the event three straight times and nine in the past 12 years.

"Our main goal for each week in the county tournament is simply to advance, and that is more apparent this year than any other," said Johnson. "With that being said, not one girl on this team has lost a county game. That’s certainly a streak we’d like to continue."

Advancing, however, won’t be easy. Senior captain Annie Goor has yet to return from off-season deviated septum surgery, and according to Johnson, a return date has not been set. Freshman Maya Pitts, who had really begun to assert herself in the front third, is out indefinitely with a foot injury she suffered during MHS’ 3-1 win against Mount St. Dominic this past Sunday in the ECT quarterfinals. Senior Izzy Star, who had been one of Johnson’s first subs off the bench, left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.

"We lost so many valuable players to graduation last year, and one of my challenges to the girls was to take advantage of a great opportunity they had to step onto the field and play right away," explained Johnson. "With our injuries and having Kelly Byquist transfer early in the season, that chance is greatly multiplied. I have confidence in each girl who has been given the opportunity."

But with seniors Morgan Stith and Ingrid Kaplan and junior Meg Morris on their side, the Mounties will always have a fighter’s chance. Morris tallied twice in the first half against the Mount and Stith added an insurance goal after intermission.

Kaplan, who moved back to sweeper when Johnson moved Stith to the midfield, has been solid in front of goalie Caitlin Pacheco. The senior keeper stopped four shots on Sunday.

After Sunday’s match against Katie Beimfohr and Millburn, Montclair gets a brief respite in its schedule. It’s a slate that’s pitted the locals against New Jersey’s two best prep teams, Pennington and Peddie, and also state-ranked Ridgewood and Immaculate Heart.

MHS travels to Holy Angels on Tuesday before facing Paramus at home and Bloomfield on the road on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

On Sunday, Oct. 19, the Mounties hope to be at West Essex in North Caldwell to face either Livingston or Caldwell in the ECT final.

"We are going to do as well as we can with what we’ve got. But our cupboard is far from bare," Johnson said. "There definitely has been some adversity this year. Hopefully the challenge will make the end result even sweeter."