Emmitsburg, Md. (March 22, 2013) -- Lindsay Diaz converted three free position goals and recorded an assist to lead Mount St. Mary's past Wagner, 9-6, to open Northeast Conference play at Waldron Family Stadium on Friday afternoon. 

The Mount (2-7, 1-0 NEC) built a 7-3 halftime lead then scored two second-half goals to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-1 at home this season. 

In the first 10 minutes of the game, Diaz found Hannah Gutcher in front of the net for a 1-0 lead, then connected on a free position attempt with 20:34 to go in the first half for a 2-0 edge. Wagner (4-5, 0-1 NEC) won the ensuing draw and Stephanie Peterson scored 35 seconds later to cut the Mountaineers' advantage in half. 

The Mount went on a 5-0 run over a 14-minute span to take a 7-1 lead with 5:38 to go before half. During the stretch, Diaz, Allie Fife and Megan Gluck all scored once, while Erin Seipp tallied two goals. 

Wagner's Annie O'Connor and Tori McGrath scored in the final five minutes of the half for a 7-3 halftime score.  

In the second half, the Seahawks got on the board first with a goal 1:07 into the period to knock the Mountaineers' lead down to 7-4. Gluck had the answer 4:40 later with a free position goal for an 8-4 Mount advantage. 

Two more Wagner strikes in just over a minute stretch trimmed the Mount's lead down to two at 8-6 with 13:12 remaining. Diaz completed the hat trick at the 4:21 mark on another free position opportunity to put the score at 9-6. The Mount held the Seahawks without a shot the rest of the way for the win. 

The Mount picked up 22 ground balls to the Seahawks' 20 on the day. Sarah Jane Leder turned away four shots for the Mount while Katie Ferraro made six saves for Wagner. 

Defensively, Melissa Cox caused six turnovers and scooped up four ground balls. Gabe Little also chipped in with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. 

The Mount will look to move to 2-0 in NEC play with another home game on Sunday, March 24, against LIU Brooklyn at 1:00 p.m. 

NOTES: The Mount improves to 13-3 all-time in NEC openers… Lindsay Diaz leads the team with 14 goals this season.