Kianna Barber's hat-trick powered West Chester to a commanding 5-2 victory over West Virginia State before 209 fans, setting up a November 23rd showdown with sixth-seeded Fairmont State at 1:00 PM EST.
Barber opened the scoring in the 14th minute off Faith Matter's assist, then added strikes in the 25th and 46th minutes to complete her treble. Victoria Pungello contributed two goals of her own in the 41st and 77th minutes while assisting on two of Barber's tallies.
Laura Pouedras and Maria Alejandra Hernandez Diaz combined for West Chester's other goal in the 19th minute. Sharon Freire Omonigho pulled one back for West Virginia State in the 32nd minute, but the visitors couldn't contain the Golden Rams' attacking flow.
West Chester dominated territorially, outshooting West Virginia State 25-15 overall with 13 shots on target. The second-seeded Golden Rams improved to 14-2-4 (10-1-4 conference), while West Virginia State fell to consecutive defeats despite their 13-1-1 conference mark.
The momentum-building victory positions West Chester as favorites heading into Saturday's clash with Fairmont State.