Top-ranked North Carolina and No. 2 UCLA continued to romp, sweeping road trips to retain their perfect records, and No. 9 Notre Dame won a big showdown with fourth-ranked Nebraska. The Tar Heels, after five shutouts, finally gave up a goal — Tennessee got two of them, from Kim Patrick and Jen Laughridge, in a 5-2 UNC victory — but dominated the Vols, Auburn (2-0) and UAB (2-0) to improve to 8-0. UCLA (7-0) got goals from Mary-Frances Monroe in wins at James Madison (2-1) and No. 20 William & Mary (2-0). Notre Dame (8-0-1), which had struggled against inferior opposition in recent weeks, used an 18th-minute Mia Sarkesian tally to stop the visiting Cornhuskers, 1-0. Sarkesian netted another big goal — an overtime header — to beat No. 18 West Virginia, 2-1, in a key Big East Conference clash. The Irish also romped in Big East play at Pitt (4-0), which has been tough at home. In other action: ò Lindsay Browne’s hat trick guided No. 12 Clemson past 11th-ranked Virginia, 4-0, in an Atlantic Coast Conference match in South Carolina; ò Freshman Christine Sinclair’s strike guided No. 3 Portland past No. 14 Washington in Seattle; ò Abby Wambach and Casey Hamel scored two minutes apart — both from Andi Sellers feeds — to lift No. 15 Florida past No. 13 Florida State, 2-0, in Gainesville; ò Colorado, under former Duke coach Bill Hempen, gave visiting Texas and Texas A&M strong challenges in Big 12 Conference play. The 17th-ranked Longhorns pulled out a 3-2 victory, but No. 7 A&M settled for a 2-2 tie. ò UNC wasn’t the only team to surrender a shutout streak. Southeast Missouri State, which behind goalkeeper Beth Guccione had held its first six opponents without a goal, improved to 7-0 with a 3-2 triumph over Tulsa. Melissa McCormick scored both goals for the Golden Hurricane. 9/24 RANKING … TEAM (CURRENT RECORD) … 9/17 RANKING 1. North Carolina (8-0-0) 1 9/26 at Tennessee (5-2), 9/28 at Auburn (2-0), 9/30 UAB (2-0) at Auburn 2. UCLA (7-0-0) 2 9/28 at James Madison (2-1), 9/30 at William & Mary (2-0) 3. Portland (7-1-0) 4 9/29 at Washington (1-0), 9/30 Washington St. (1-0) 4. Nebraska (6-1-0) 5 9/25 at Notre Dame (0-1), 9/28 Baylor (4-0) 5. Stanford (7-0-0) 8 9/28 San Diego State (2-1) at Santa Clara, 9/30 SMU (4-0) at Santa Clara 6. Santa Clara (7-1-0) 3 9/28 SMU (5-2), 9/30 San Diego State (2-0) 7. Texas A&M (4-2-1) 12 9/28 at Texas Tech (4-1), 9/30 at Colorado (2-2) 8. California (3-1-0) 13 9/28 Fresno St. (2-0) 9. Notre Dame (8-0-1) 9 9/25 Nebraska (1-0), 9/28 at Pittsburgh (4-0), 9/30 West Virginia (2-1, OT) 10. Penn State (6-2-1) 10 9/25 Bucknell (9-2), 9/28 Purdue (1-1), 9/30 at Indiana (4-1) 11. Virginia (4-2-1) 11 9/26 Liberty (7-0), 9/29 at Clemson (0-4) 12. Clemson (5-1-0) 7 9/29 Virginia (4-0) 13. Florida St. (6-3-0) 17 9/28 at Florida (0-2), 9/30 Louisville (3-2) 14. Washington (4-2-1) 6 9/29 Portland (0-1) 15. Florida (5-2-1) 18 9/28 Florida State (2-0), 9/30 South Carolina (1-0) 16. Connecticut (7-2-0) 20 9/28 at Miami (5-0), 9/30 Providence (2-1) 17. Texas (3-3-0) 19 9/28 at Colorado (3-2), 9/30 at Texas Tech (4-1) 18. West Virginia (6-2-0) NR 9/28 Seton Hall (4-0), 9/30 at Notre Dame (1-2, OT) 19. Tennessee (4-3) NR 9/26 North Carolina (2-5) 20. William & Mary (4-0-0) 14 9/27 at Virginia Tech (0-1), 9/30 UCLA (0-2)