STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Ashley Johnson (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West) scored four goals to propel Mount St. Mary's into the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament and past Wagner 11-5 in NEC women's lacrosse action on Friday.

Johnson notched her ninth hat trick of the season with her four goals on the afternoon. The senior scored the Mount's (7-8, 5-3 NEC) first two goals of the contest and posted two tallies in the second half to help clinch the squad's eighth-straight league tournament appearance and its 12th in the 13 years of the NEC.

Jordan Certeza (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Lutheran), the current NEC Rookie of the Week, added two goals and one assist while Esther Rufolo (Woodstock, Md./Chapelgate Christian Academy) registered one tally and one assist in the winning effort.

Lauren Petrik and Carolyn Clark fueled Seahawks (3-11, 2-6 NEC) with two goals apiece in the loss.

Wagner jumped out to an advantage before Mount St. Mary's scored six times to take control and never look back for its fifth-straight win against the Seahawks.

Trailing 3-2 with 11 minutes left in the first half, Jackie Kearney (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough) converted a free-position chance at 22:58 to tie the game at 3-all and start a string of six unanswered markers. Rufolo then gave the Mount the lead for good on an unassisted tally at 24:40. Jen Semler (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) then recorded an 8-meter tally at 28:06 before Certeza scored unassisted with 28 seconds left in the first half to give Mount St. Mary's a 6-3 lead at halftime.

After Meaghan Conlon (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) got the scoring started in the second half with an unassisted goal at 38:44, Johnson completed her hat trick off an assist from Emily Kirby (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) at 40:28 for an 8-3 lead.

Clark and Petrik recorded back-to-back scores to trim the margin to 8-5. Clark scored unassisted at 46:02 before Petrik posted a free-position marker at 48:50 to make it a three-goal lead.

Conlon answered for the Mountaineers with an 8-meter goal at 52:40 to start a 3-0 run to end the match. After Certeza scored off a Rufolo feeder at 58:18, Johnson sealed the victory and punched the team's playoff ticket with an unassisted goal with 42 seconds left for an 11-5 win.

Wagner took the advantage three times in the first 18 minutes. Petrik got the scoring started off an Annie O'Connor helper 47 seconds into the game. Johnson answered for the Mount with her first tally of the afternoon at 1:50 to tie the game at 2.

Teri Noll reclaimed the lead for the Seahawks on an unassisted tally two minutes later for a 2-1 edge. Johnson responded again for the Mountaineers off a Certeza assist at 15:52 to even the game at 2.

Clark gave Wagner a 3-2 lead on an unassisted goal at the 19-minute mark, but Kearney started a 6-0 run for Mount St. Mary's to give the Mount the lead it would not relinquish.

Brigid McTavish (Mount Airy, Md./South Carroll) made 11 saves for the Mount while Marcela Hernandez recorded seven stops and Alex Johnston turned away two shots for the Seahawks.

Kearney, the current NEC Defensive Player of the Week, paced the defense with four goals, three caused turnovers and one draw controls. Lucy Pompa (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) added four ground balls, one draw control and one caused turnover.

Johnson moved into fourth place on the program's all-time career goals list (129) and seventh in career shots (262). The senior has posted the sixth-most goals in the program's single season history (46) and the 10th-most points (55) in single-season team history.

Certeza has 21 assists this season, the sixth most in a single season in program history. McTavish also joined the Top-10 in saves for a campaign with 123 stops.

The Mount will compete in the NEC Tournament for the eighth-straight season starting on Apr. 23. The squad will be the No. 4 seed and play the regular season champion and host. Sacred Heart hosts Quinnipiac on Saturday to decide the regular season crown.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action in the regular season finale at Long Island. Game time is 1 p.m.