STANFORD, Calif. - Fueled by Corinne Zanolli's hat trick, No. 15 Stanford defeated Miami (Ohio) 3-1 on Wednesday morning at the Varsity Turf in the opening round of the NCAA Championship.
Winners of seven straight, Stanford (16-6, 4-0 America East) advanced to an NCAA first-round match on Friday at defending NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked North Carolina (19-0, 6-0 ACC).
Making its 17th NCAA appearance overall and first since a 2-1 loss to Miami (Ohio) in the 2017 opening round, Stanford earned its second NCAA win in school history. The Cardinal's only other victory came back on Nov. 15, 2014, defeating Louisville 2-1 in overtime in a first-round contest.
After a scoreless first quarter in which neither team produced a shot attempt or a penalty corner, Stanford quickly took control. Zanolli, who ripped off a game-high six shots, scored the first of her three goals in the 20th minute, firing a shot to the top corner following a cross from Fenella Scutt.
Leading 1-0 at halftime, Zanolli scored twice in a two-minute stretch at the start of the third quarter. After finding the cage unassisted at the 32:19 mark, she then converted a penalty stroke one minute later.
The scoring barrage came as no surprise, with Zanolli producing her sixth hat trick of the season and ninth of her career. Zanolli leads the nation in goals (33) and points (69).
Miami (Ohio) avoided the shutout when Leonor Berlie scored unassisted in the 59th minute.
Stanford held advantages in shots (11-7) and penalty corners (4-3).
The Cardinal's 16 victories are its most since producing a program-best 19-3 record in 2014.