McKenzie Barney continued her brilliant season Friday night, but a frustrating finish left a bitter taste in the captain’s mouth as No. 5 Florida tied No.17 Duke 1-1 in the double-overtime nightcap of the Duke Nike Classic in Durham, N.C.
“It was a rough ending,” Barney said. “There is a lot of frustration… We’re pretty fortunate to come out with a tie. They took it took us and we took it to them, but it really could have come out either way.”
The Gators (6-0-1) struggled early on as the Blue Devils (5-1-2) attacked relentlessly in the opening 15 minutes of the game. Florida keeper Katie Fraine made a key stop on one-on-one, and steady center defender Kat Williamson saved a goal by blocking a shot off the goal line.
After surviving Duke’s initial assault, the Gators controlled the possession and created several chances of their own. But Florida struggled to breakthrough as Duke was bottling up the middle and Florida didn’t take advantage of the opportunities out wide.
After a scoreless first half, Barney gave the Gators a 1-0 lead when she scored her sixth goal of the season off a rebound shot from Taylor Travis. Travis, born just twenty miles from Durham, drilled a shot off the crossbar ricocheting toward Barney (53rd minute) who instinctively headed the ball into the back of the net. The goal ended the Blue Devils’ shutout streak that spanned over six matches.
After maintaining the lead for the next 30 minutes, Duke scored an apparent equalizer but the goal was disallowed because of offsides. However, minutes later (89th minute) the Blue Devils pulled even on a beautiful chip pass that was finished on the backside by Laura Weinberg.
Coach Becky Burleigh was disappointed with the late goal again saying, “when a team is down they’re going to play a lot more direct, and we have got to find a way to get the ball, settle it and hold it. That’s something we’ve got to figure out.”
The Gators thought they were seeing déjà vu, as just last Friday night Florida surrendered a goal to FSU in the last minute of the game, only to comeback and win seconds later.
There would be no repeat miracle this Friday. In both overtimes, the Blue Devils controlled the pace and the ball, and the Gators looked to be just holding on for dear life. The Gators built one last strong attack and nearly won the game when Travis connected on a header, but Duke’s keeper thwarted the chance and preserved the tie.
“You learn something from every game,” Barney said. “No one said the journey was going to be easy; you’ve got to go through a lot of hard tough times to get there.”
The Gators will look to regroup quickly because on Sunday they take on No.1 North Carolina at noon in the finale of the Duke Nike Classic.
