The No. 1 North Carolina (8-0-1, 0-0 ACC) soccer team handed No. 5 Florida (6-1-1, 0-0 SEC) its first loss of the season Sunday at Duke University’s Koskinen Stadium. The Tar Heels, the two-time defending NCAA champion, posted a 2-0 win over UF in the first match of the final day of action at the Duke Nike Classic.
| Three Gator defenders were named to the Duke Nike Classic All-Tournament team: Jazmyne Avant Ashlee Elliott Kathryn Williamson |
Florida found itself trailing for the first time this season in the 61st minute when the Tar Heels were challenging in the UF box. Gator goalkeeper Katie Fraine was knocked down at the near post corner after making the stop on Ali Rich’s attempt. UNC’s Alyssa Hawkins took a shot on the ball just three seconds later, which looked to be saved off the line by Kathryn Williamson, but the ball was ruled to have crossed the goal line.
The Tar Heels pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 75th minute when Elizabeth Burchenal scored off a short shot at the near post corner after receiving a quick pass from Rebecca Crabb.
Although UNC shut out the Gators, UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh recognized that the chances were there for Florida Sunday.
“I’m disappointed that we lost this game. And that’s a great place to be for us,” Burleigh said. “We definitely had our chances and we just failed to capitalize on them. The good news is that we had our chances - the bad news is that we didn’t finish them. That changes the game.”
Florida had excellent opportunities in each half. In the ninth minute, Tahnai Annis played a ball to McKenzie Barney in the middle of the field. Barney moved forward and sent the ball ahead to Taylor Travis making a run down the middle but the ball was too far ahead for Travis to make a play on it. Lindsay Thompson was able to get behind the Tar Heel backline a couple of times, with her best opportunity coming in the 37th minute when she got into the UNC box, but the ball couldn’t be controlled to get the shot off.
The second half opened with Florida moving the ball well, resulting in more opportunities. Just four minutes into the second half, the Gators regained control of the ball after the Tar Heels turned it over in their final third. Thompson got a shot off, but UNC’s second half goalkeeper Anna Sieloff made the save. In the 55th minute, Thompson again had a shot, this time a header, but the shot was stopped at the near post. The Gators kept pressing, as Erika Tymrak played a ball to Annis in the 53rd minute. Her 10-yard header was saved by Sieloff.
The Tar Heels saw some of their near chances stopped by Fraine. In the 32nd minute, a quick pass in the Florida box led to 10-yard shot by Burchenal but Fraine made the save. Early in the second half, Fraine made a tough save at the near post when Alyssa Rich’s short shot was deflected in the box. For the match, Fraine recorded a season-high eight saves against the Tar Heels.
Burleigh liked the effort the Gators showed Sunday.
“I’m proud of our team’s fight,” Burleigh said. “I’m a little disappointed in our composure in the final third because the chances are there. When you play a good team, you want to get your chances and we got those. We just need to finish some of those chances. I like the fight in this team a lot.”
UF Associate Coach Vic Campbell received a red card late in the match and will now serve a one-match suspension.
Florida continues road competition when it opens defense of its Southeastern Conference title with a pair of matches. The Gators meet Kentucky (5-2, 0-0 SEC) in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The last two meetings between these two teams have gone to overtime, with UF’s Thompson providing the golden goal both times. Then Florida plays Vanderbilt (6-3, 0-0 SEC) on Sunday, Sept. 26 in a match which will be televised live by CSS at 2 p.m. (ET). Florida won 5-1 when the two teams met in 2009, but the last match held in Nashville was a 4-3 OT win when Jessica Eicken headed in a corner kick. Friday’s match can be heard on WRUF AM 850 or by simulcast on Cox Channel 946 (Gainesville/Ocala). Both matches can be heard on www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick covering the weekend’s action.
| Scoring Summary: | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| North Carolina | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scoring: | |||||||
| UNC: Alyssa Rich (Ali Hawkins) 60:15 | |||||||
| UNC: Elizabeth Burchenal (Rebecca Crabb) 74:24 | |||||||
| | |||||||
| Goalkeepers: | |||||||
| | | Minutes | Saves | GA | |||
| UNC | Hannah Daly | 45:00 | 0 | 0 | |||
| | Anna Sieloff | 45:00 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Florida | Katie Fraine | 90:00 | 8 | 2 | |||
| | | | | | |||
| Statistical Summary: | UNC | UF | | ||||
| Shots | 17 | 6 | | ||||
| Shots on goal | 10 | 4 | | ||||
| Saves | 4 | 8 | | ||||
| Corner Kicks | 8 | 1 | | ||||
| Fouls | 12 | 13 | | ||||
| Offside | 5 | 5 | | ||||
Cautions: UF-Brooke Thigpen (33:50/yellow), UF Bench-(86:43/yellow), UF Bench-(86:43/red)
