EWING, N.J. – A banner day for Sophie Vieira and a characteristically staunch defensive performance powered the No. 1 TCNJ women's soccer team to a 4-0 victory Westfield State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Lions Stadium.

Vieira carried the Lions on a brisk fall morning, scoring the opening goal less than four minutes in and tacking on two more in the first two minutes of the second half. Her early blitz in the second stanza gave TCNJ plenty of separation and sent the hosts on to a second-rout date with 2019 national champion Messiah on Sunday. The Falcons edged Virginia Wesleyan, 1-0, on a walk-off overtime winner to set up a titanic tilt of two of Division III women's soccer's most storied programs.

Vieira's opener was the result of a brilliant run by Emma Pascarella, who was played in down the right side by Julia Obst and beat a defender before sending a hard cross into the box. An Owls defender attempted to clear the danger but sent the ball right into the path of Vieira, who punched a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the net with just 3:48 off the clock.

TCNJ had several chances to expand its lead in the first period. Nikki Butler saw her rocket shot saved after another pin-point cross from Pascarella, who also played in Gianna Coppola for a shot that slid just wide of the right post.

For all of the Lions' dominance, the Owls came close to snatching a late equalizer. Jenn Rennich got behind the defense and was in alone on goal, but NJAC defensive player of the year Jess Hall somehow dispossessed her with a sliding tackle before she could get off a shot.

With intermission to regroup, the Lions came out firing in the second half, with Vieira capping her hat trick in a 51-second flurry. Coppola set up the first, lofting a short pass over the head of a Westfield State defender and into the run of Vieira, who took a few touches and coolly slotted home with a low shot just inside the left post. Less than a minute later, Vieira took a long ball from Ava Curtis and fired a shot across the goal and into the left side of the netting.

With her third marker, Vieira became the first TCNJ player to notch a hat-trick in the NCAA Tournament since Christine Levering score all three goals in a 3-0 victory over Allegheny in a first-round match in 2014.

The Lions expanded the margin to 4-0 with 24:51 remaining as Amelia Curtis' corner found the head of Sofia Alves, whose header at the back post bounced off the woodwork and in.

The only thing that could stop the TCNJ attack was mother nature, and she obliged with lightning and a furious deluge with 9:16 to go. Players and fans cleared the stadium during a 90-minute delay before playing out the remaining time.

TCNJ wound up with a 16-9 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Alexandra Panasuk made one save, early on in the first half, before being replaced by Kate Walsh after the resumption of play. Walsh made a pair of saves in the final minute to preserve the shutout.

Tomorrow's matchup pits two of the NCAA's legendary coaches against each other. Messiah's Scott Frey has won six national championships, including the 2019 national tournament, and TCNJ boss Joe Russo has three under his belt. The pair has combined for almost 1,000 career victories and fewer than 100 losses in their storied careers, and they are the two winningest coaches in Division III history in NCAA Tournament victories.