North Carolina had to rally, Penn State and Portland captured showdowns, and Cincinnati’s Cinderella campaign crashed to a Lindsay Gusick hat trick Saturday during third-round action in the NCAA Division I women’s soccer championship. Rutgers (14-8-1) threatened to pull off one of the most significant upsets in NCAA history, grabbing an early lead on 17-time national champion North Carolina (22-0) and holding off the No. 1 seed more than an hour. Midfielder Jordan Walker’s goal with eight and a half minutes to play — her second of the tournament and third of the season — sent the Tar Heels to next weekend’s quarterfinals with a 2-1 triumph. “The biggest thing I asked my team to do is come here and not be intimidated by the aura, come and play, and they did that, and the result looked pretty good for a while,” said Rutgers coach Glenn Crooks. “I’m certainly proud of my team, because not everybody who steps on this field plays like we did today.” Heidi Drummond’s 17th and 18th goals of the season gave Penn State (21-3-1) its second 2-0 victory this season over Connecticut; Portland (19-3) dismantled Nebraska for the second time in 2001. Gusick, Virginia’s freshman phenom, scored her 15th, 16th and 17th goals and set up Lori Lindsey’s 10th as the Cavaliers (17-3-2) romped past Cincinnati. Santa Clara (20-2) also advanced to the final eight, making Dartmouth its 13th shutout victim this season. A roundup of Saturday’s third-round action: ò Anne Morrell and Walker scored second-half goals as No. 1 North Carolina, the two-time defending NCAA champ, overcame surprising Rutgers, 2-1, in its toughest outing of the season. Jena Kluegel played key roles in both goals, and goalkeeper Jen Branam made one huge save for the Tar Heels, who won their 31st straight game and improved to 49-1 in NCAA tournament games at Felzer Field. Rutgers (14-8-1) stunned Carolina in the 12th minute, after a Catherine Reddick giveaway led to a Keri Lages breakaway. Kristin DePlatchett, the Tar Heels’ keeper in the first half, stopped Lages, but Meghann Cameron, backing up the play, fired the rebound into an open net. It was Cameron’s fifth goal this season and her third in four games. The freshman had a goal and two assists in the Scarlet Knights’ NCAA-opening 4-1 win over Boston University. Carolina, which owned significant advantages in shots (15-4) and corner kicks (7-0), couldn’t beat Rutgers keeper Christine Caldwell until the 64th minute. Kluegel, a left winger, took a pass from Maggie Tomecka and split several defenders with a ball to an open Morrell in the Scarlet Knight box. Morrell turned, took a couple touches, and pulled the Tar Heels even with a shot to Caldwell’s left. Branam, who entered the match at halftime, prevented Rutgers from retaking the lead with a diving stop of an Adrienne Dugandzic shot, and Walker finished an Alyssa Ramsey cross in the 82nd minute to send Carolina to its 20th quarterfinal in 20 NCAA tournaments. It will host Penn State on Friday night. All three of Walker’s goals this season — one in a second-round win over Duke — have been gamewinners. She also scoring the winning goal in last year’s semifinal victory over Notre Dame. “A lot of it is luck,” Walker said of her knack for scoring important goals. “When it comes to big games, I think one of my strengths is mental toughness. I know that I need to focus in those types of situations. I just try to focus a little harder than I normally would.” ò Drummond notched her second two-goal effort in as many games, scoring both in the second half to lift Penn State past eighth-seeded Connecticut, 2-0, to the quarterfinals for the fourth successive year. The Nittany Lions, who will play at North Carolina on Friday, also got a strong performance from goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk, who made eight saves in her ninth shutout of the season. Drummond scored in the 62nd minute after Stephanie Pezzullo nudged the ball onto her path from a scramble in the box, then got her second 14 minutes later, stripping a defender and firing to the upper-left corner. Drummond had an assist in Penn State’s 2-0 victory over Connecticut (18-6) on Sept. 2 at Notre Dame’s tournament. She’s scored twice in five games this season. ò Freshman Christine Sinclair scored her 21st goal of the season and Betsy Barr struck with her seventh just before halftime, and fourth-seeded Portland routed Nebraska (17-5-1), 4-0, its second Merlo Field romp over the Cornhuskers in little more than a month. Sinclair and Barr also scored in the Pilots’ 3-0 victory on Oct. 23. Sinclair, a Canadian national team striker, knocked Kristen Rogers’ deflected cross into an empty net in the 33rd minute, and Barr nailed a diving header from Lisa Casagrande’s cross in the 44th. Emily Patterson and Lauren Mussallem added second-half goals. “Portland was the best team we’ve played this year,” praised Nebraska coach John Walker. “I have no problem with our effort. Portland just has a good professional approach to the game. They’re the toughest team in the country to come back on and equalize. They play with a maturity you don’t see at the college level.” The Pilots will play host to Texas A&M — which beat Stanford on Friday night — on Sunday at noon. ò Gusick struck in the eighth, 27th and 83rd minutes as Virginia took apart unheralded Cincinnati, 4-0, for its 17th victory, one off the school record. The hat trick was the second this season for Gusick, who also had an assist on Lindsey’s 60th-minute tally. Gusick’s second goal followed a sensational run by freshman defender Katie Bunch, who raced through several Cincinnati players before dishing the ball off. The Bearcats (20-4), Conference USA champions who upset Notre Dame in the second round, had surrendered only 10 goals in their 23 previous matches. Goalkeeper Christy Hoffman leads the nation with 15 shutouts. Virginia heads to Santa Clara for its quarterfinal match next Saturday afternoon. ò Freshman Jessica Ballweg netted her fourth goal of the season and helped the Santa Clara defense limit Dartmouth to one shot in a 2-0 Broncos romp in the rain. Aly Wagner’s 15th goal of the season, a ninth-minute penalty kick, and Ballweg’s 58th-minute finish gave Santa Clara (20-2) its seventh successive NCAA quarterfinal berth. The second-seeded Broncos play host to Virginia next Saturday at 1 p.m. Wagner fired Santa Clara ahead after Veronica Zepeda had been taken down in the Dartmouth box. Ballweg knocked home a Danielle Slaton corner kick that Devvyn Hawkins headed to her feet. Santa Clara outshot the Big Green, 25-1, with its defense — led by Hawkins and Wagner in midfield and Slaton and Anna Kraus behind them — posting its ninth shutout in 12 games. Dartmouth (11-5-1) got a superb showing from goalkeeper Julia Shields, who made 10 saves and shutout the Broncos — Wagner’s penalty kick aside — before departing at halftime. ò Heavy Southern California rains forced the UCLA-Dayton clash’s postponement. The Bruins and Flyers will instead play on Sunday in Westwood, with the winner taking on Florida or Clemson, who battle Sunday in Gainesville. NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP THIRD ROUND Saturday’s results North Carolina 2 Rutgers 1. Goals: Morrell (Kluegel, Tomecka) 64, Walker (Ramsey, Kluegel) 82; Cameron (Lages) 12. Penn State 2 Connecticut 0. Goals: Drummond (Welsh, Pezzullo) 62, Drummond 76. Portland 4 Nebraska 0. Goals: Sinclair (Rogers) 33, Barr (Casagrande) 44, Patterson (O’Hanley) 78, Mussallem (Moore) 87. Dayton at UCLA, ppd., rain Virginia 4 Cincinnati 0. Goals: Gusick (Meeker) 7, Gusick (Bunch) 27, Lindsey (Gusick) 60, Gusick 83. Santa Clara 2 Dartmouth 0. Goals: Wagner pen. 9, Ballweg (Hawkins, Slaton) 58. Friday’s result Stanford 0 Texas A&M 1. Goal: Dillard (Childers) 62. Sunday’s games Dayton (17-5) at UCLA (19-2), 1 p.m. PST Clemson (14-4-1) at Florida (19-3-1), 2 p.m. EST QUARTERFINALS Friday, Nov. 30 Penn State (21-3-1) at North Carolina (22-0), 7 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 1 Virginia (17-3-2) at Santa Clara (20-2), 1 p.m. PST Sunday, Dec. 2 Texas A&M (17-3-1) at Portland (19-3), noon PST To be determined UCLA-Dayton winner vs. Florida-Clemson winner