The No. 5 Florida (6-0-1, 0-0 SEC) and No. 17 Duke (5-1-2, 0-0 ACC) soccer teams played to a 1-1 double overtime tie Friday evening at the Koskinen Stadium.
The opening goal of the match came early in the second half. Freshman Taylor Travis, took a hard 23-yard shot which kicked off the crossbar. McKenzie Barney was at the far post corner and headed in the rebound from six yards. It was the sixth goal of the season for Barney who is the reigning National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National and Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Travis playing in front of many family and friends who made the 20-mile trip from her hometown of Cary, N.C., was excited to provide the assist on Barney's goal.
“If you rewind the video, you can see that I dropped to my knees when Barney scored. I was living the moment right there,” Travis said. “That is the best feeling to share with your teammates and in front of your family.”
The goal ended the Blue Devils shutout streak at 448 minutes, which spanned over the last six matches.
But much like last Friday's 2-1 OT win at then No. 10 Florida State, the match was tied by the opponent in the 89th minute. Duke got the equalizer when Kaitlyn Kerr slid a through ball from 28-yards which Laura Weinberg poked in from seven yards for her fourth goal of the season.
The match ended with the Gator gaining their first tie of the season and UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh wants Florida to learn from this experience.
“When you are on the road and you are getting a tie in a tough game - not that's what we are looking for - but sometimes it is just a learning experience. This was one of those times,” Burleigh said. “Obviously one thing we need to learn is to close out games. When teams are down, they are going to start knocking the ball long and try to disrupt our rhythm. We've got to get a hold of the ball and keep it on the ground. That's hard to do under a lot of pressure and that's an area that needs improvement. “
Florida continue action at the Duke Nike Classic when it meets two-time defending NCAA champion and current No. 1 North Carolina (7-0-1, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday, Sept. 19 at noon. The Tar Heels defeated Middle Tennessee State 7-1 in the opening match of the Duke Nike Classic. Sunday's match can be heard on WRUF AM 850, by simulcast on Cox Channel 946 (Gainesville/Ocala) or on www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick covering the action.
| Scoring Summary: | 1st | 2nd | OT | OT2 | Final |
| Florida | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Duke | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scoring: |
| UF – McKenzie Barney (Taylor Travis) 52:30 |
| DU – Laura Weinberg (Kaitlyn Kerr) 88:42 |
| |
| Goalkeepers: |
| | | Minutes | Saves | GA |
| Florida | Katie Fraine | 110:00 | 5 | 1 |
| Duke | Tara Campbell | | 4 | 1 |
| | | | | |
| Statistical Summary: | UF | DU | |
| Shots | 15 | 21 | |
| Shots on goal | 5 | 7 | |
| Saves | 6 | 4 | |
| Corner Kicks | 2 | 7 | |
| Fouls | 14 | 2 | |
| Offside | 3 | 6 | |
| | | | | | | |
Cautions: Jazmyne Avant (UF) 102:44
