Three goals in a span of 2:03 paced the No. 3 North Carolina field hockey team to a 4-1 halftime lead against No. 18 Delaware in the first round of the NCAA championships.
Midfielder Nina Notman kicked off the blitzkrieg with the game tied 1-1 midway through the opening half. Notman wended her way through a maze of sticks in the goal-mouth and bounced a shot past Blue Hens’ goalkeeper Sarah Scher for her 13th goal of the season.
Just 17 seconds later, forward Charlotte Craddock barreled down the middle of the field and blasted her ninth goal of the season past Scher. Craddock added her second of the game 46 seconds later, capping a tic-tac-toe string of passes by burying Casey Di Nardo’s centering feed into a vacant net.
Emily Wold opened the scoring with her sixth goal of the year, taking a pass from Notman about eight and a half minutes into the game and sending a skipping backhander into the far corner.
The Blue Hens (17-4) quickly countered about four minutes later off a penalty corner when Esmee Peet beat UNC goalkeeper Sassi Ammer at the far post.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
