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Did You Know…
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►Duke
came into Sunday’s match ranked No. 2 on the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America (NSCAA), TopDrawerSoccer.com, CollegeSoccer360.com and Soccer
Times polls and also held the No. 1 spot on Soccer America’s last poll.
Florida
last defeated the NSCAA’s No. 2 ranked team in 1998 NCAA College Cup
semifinal action (UF 1, Santa Clara 0; Dec. 4, 1998).
Florida
last defeated a top-ranked team (on any poll) in 1998 NCAA College Cup action
(UF 1, North Carolina 0; Dec. 6, 1998).
►The
last time Florida played consecutive road matches that went to overtime came
in a span of a week during the 2010 season. Florida defeated Florida State
2-1 in overtime and then traveled to Durham, N.C., to register a 1-1 2OT tie
the following Friday.
►Today’s
goal was the second golden goal for senior All-American Erika Tymrak.
She also scored the overtime winner Oct. 17, 2010 versus Georgia.
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It
wasn’t unexpected that the contest would be pushed to overtime, as this was the
third consecutive meeting between Florida and Duke that went to extra minutes.
Unlike the two meetings in 2010 – a 1-1 2OT tie in Durham and 0-0 2OT in
Gainesville in the NCAA Second Round - a winner was determined today.
It
was a give-and-go play that ended the match in the 93rd minute. Tymrak brought
the ball down to the top of the box and sent it right to fellow senior McKenzie
Barney. Barney sent the ball back to Tymrak who continued her run into the
box.
“I
looked up and saw McKenzie wide open. I gave her the ball and then made a run
in the box,” Tymrak said. “She put it literally right on my foot. I don’t
really remember much of it because I was so in the moment. I kicked it and it
might have deflected off of someone, but it went in.”
Tymrak’s
score finished the Gators comeback from a first-half two-goal deficit. The Blue Devils struck
first when junior Gilda Doria struck a 20-yard shot in the ninth minute. Cassie
Pecht scored her second goal of the season after she intercepted a Gator pass
to hit an unassisted goal from 20 yards in the 29th minute.
A
pair of sophomores synced up to score Florida’s first goal in the 39th
minute. Havana Solaun, located just above the middle of the box, sent a
through ball into the box which found Jillian Graff. Her right-footed
shot from 15 yards scored at the lower right corner of the goal.
“I
saw the gap in the defense between the two center backs so I made a run across
the line,” Graff said. “Havana played a great ball through and I took a touch
and shot it.”
It
was Graff’s first goal of the season and the third of her career.
Graff’s
goal was “huge”, according to Tymrak, as it sent the Gators to halftime down by
just a goal.
A
second-half cross by Tymrak ended up as the tying goal in the 64th minute.
Florida was awarded a corner kick and Annie Speese sent the ball to
Tymrak, who moved the ball along the end line. She saw an opportunity to put
the ball into traffic and the ball she sent deflected off of a Duke player’s
back to score for the Gators.
“The
coaches always say just drill it in (in that situation) because it will hit off
of someone. I just looked up and saw a bunch of our players and a bunch of
their players so I drilled it waist high and it deflected,” Tymrak said. “It
was really exciting because it tied the score.”
It
was the first time an opponent registered an own goal versus Florida since the
Oct. 7, 2011 3-2 overtime win over Auburn at the James G. Pressly Stadium.
Through
three matches, the Gators now have a win, loss and a tie. Just over a week ago,
the team opened with a disappointing 4-1 loss to Miami. Now after tying
perennial power and No. 14 North Carolina 0-0 2OT and defeating 2011 NCAA
College Cup finalist Duke today, the Gators got some validation that they are
better that what they showed in the opener.
“I
know this is the biggest win of the season since it is the only one,” UF Head
Coach Becky Burleigh said with a laugh. “It was just a much-needed win
and confidence boost for this team. We overcame a lot in this game. After going
to overtime in a battle with North Carolina Friday night, to be able to have
the legs to go into overtime today and win this after overcoming a two-goal
deficit shows the character this team has.
“It
was a huge game for us because of the way we started the season against Miami,”
she continued. “It would be easy for us to have some self-doubt, but everyone
on this team knew that we are a really good team and we just had to go out and
prove it.”
