DURHAM, N.C. – After a scoreless first half, No. 1 North Carolina scored a pair of second-half goals for a 2-0 victory that denied No. 5 Florida’s upset bid in the Duke Nike Classic tournament at Koskinen Stadium.
Florida (6-1-1) and North Carolina (8-0-1) battled evenly for the first 59 minutes at which time the Tar Heels, the two-time defending NCAA champions, took control by scoring twice and outshooting Florida 9-0 over the final 31 minutes.
The Gators fell behind for the first time this season in the 61st minute when UNC midfielder Kealia Ohai sent a long crossing pass to Megan Klingenberg to the left of the Florida box. Klingenberg dribbled around a Florida defender and drew out goalie Katie Fraine. Klingenberg then slipped a pass to Ali Hawkins, who touched it over to Alyssa Rich. Rich didn’t miss from the three-yard line, though Florida claimed the ball never crossed the line and that Kathryn Williamson had made the save.
The Tar Heels added insurance in the 75th minute when Elizabeth Burchenal back-heeled a short shot past Fraine after receiving a pass from Rebecca Crabb.
Florida, which had battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie with host Duke on Friday night, was outshot 16-6 by North Carolina, which also had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks. Fraine made 7 saves while allowing two goals, while North Carolina split its goalkeeper duties evenly between Hannah Daly and Anna Sieloff, who made four saves.
Despite the shutout, Florida head coach Becky Burleigh thought her team had its chances to pull off the upset.
“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.
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 serve a one-match suspension.
Three Florida defenders were named to the all-tournament team: Jazmyne Avant, Ashlee Elliott, Kathryn Williamson.
Florida opens defense of its Southeastern Conference title with a pair of road matches. The Gators visit Kentucky (5-2) Friday at 7 p.m. Then Florida plays Vanderbilt (6-3) Sunday in a match which will be televised live by CSS at 2 p.m. (ET).
No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 2, No. 5 FLORIDA 0
Duke Nike Classic / Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010 / Durham, N.C.
Scoring summary 1 2—Total
North Carolina 0 2—2
Florida 0 0—0
NC: Alyssa Rich (Ali Hawkins, Meghan Klingenberg) 60:15
NC: Elizabeth Burchenal (Rebecca Crabb, Ali Hawkins) 74:24
Goalkeepers Min Saves GA
Hannah Daly (UNC) 45:00 0 0
Anna Sieloff (UNC) 45:00 4 0
Katie Fraine (UF) 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
Offsides 5 5
Cautions: UF-Brooke Thigpen (33:50/yellow), UF—bench (86:43/yellow), UF—bench (86:43/red).