BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- On a blustery evening at Buckhannon-Upshur High School, the No. 18 West Virginia State women's soccer team scored three goals in the first half and a fourth in the second half to complete the season sweep against West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, 4-0. The victory secures the MEC South Division for the Yellow Jackets and assures them of home field advantage through at least the semifinals of the Mountain East tournament, which runs Nov. 1-6 and will be played on campus sites. 

State (14-0-1, 12-0-1 MEC South) were without the country's leading scorer in D-II in Fran Soares-Cupertino after she was suspended for the match after being given her marching orders against Davis & Elkins on Sunday for picking up two yellow cards in the match. Paula Herold pocketed two goals for the Jackets while Karem Rodrigues and Sandra Linares each put one past the Bobcat (4-10-1, 4-8-1 MEC South) goalkeeper. 

State didn't take long to get on the scoreboard after the start of the match. In the seventh minute, Brooklyn Pritt took a ball down the right side following a Jacket throw-in and made a cross to a well guarded Karem Rodrigues. Rodrigues got around her defender and sent it into the left corner of the goal for the eventual game-winner. In the 29th minute, State built-out of the back of their defensive zone. Delany Day sent a pass up to midfield which was intercepted by a Bobcat defender. The rebound went long to Pritt who chipped it to Linares who was running straight down the middle of the field. Linares one-touched it over the goalkeeper's head who got caught playing high to score the insurance goal for the Jackets. It was Pritt's second assist of the night. With just under a minute and a half to go in the half, Herold took a free kick 35 yards from goal and she drilled the bottom left corner of the Wesleyan net, putting the Jackets up 3-0 at the halftime whistle.

A little over ten minutes into the start of the second half, Alba Closa took a ball down the right side of the field, dropping it to Herold who was camping at the top of the Wesleyan penalty area. Herold sent a screamer right back into the bottom left corner for the final goal of the match. The Bobcats sent four of the six shots on goal they had in the match after Herold's final goal of the match, but Galindo made all four saves for her sixth shutout of the season. 

Herold picked up her second and third goals of the season, 38 days after she scored her first. Linares got her sixth and Rodrigues scored her second of the season. 

The Yellow Jacket defense has not allowed an opponent to score for 305 minutes, dating back to when WVSU hosted Alderson Broaddus on Oct. 9.

The Jackets return to Institute for their final home match of the regular season against the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons on Sunday, Oct. 23. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm at Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium.