For McKenzie Barney, one of the Gators’ most experienced players, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
Her college career has had its misfortunes. But Barney, a redshirt senior forward, has flourished on the field lately. In No. 24 Florida’s past three matches, she tallied a goal against Florida International and a game-winning assist against then-No. 2 Duke.
Barney has not only stepped up as an attacking weapon, but as a team captain and leader for her younger teammates.
“She’s never too cool for school for anybody,” coach Becky Burleigh said.
“She always brings a lot of passion and energy. People always listen to her. She’s kind of the ‘Let’s get everyone fired up’ type of person. She’s done a better job this year of knowing when that’s appropriate and when it’s appropriate to sort of get us to relax and play within our roles.”
In 1,701 minutes in 2010, Barney tallied four assists and a Southeastern Conference-best 14 goals.
But last year, Barney’s numbers plummeted to four goals and one assist as Burleigh cut her playing time in half.
“Some people think that goal scorers like that are a fluke,” Burleigh said. “It’s not at all. It takes a lot of intention to do that. This year, she’s improved upon that intention.”
But in UF’s regular-season finale against South Carolina on Oct. 28, Barney suffered her worst fall. After sustaining a concussion and facial fractures while going for a header, she sat out the postseason.
It was her second season-ending injury. She suffered an ACL tear during the preseason of her freshman year in 2008.
“Probably the most frustrating thing of my life,” Barney said of missing the end of 2011. “That was my original class last year, so to go out that way was really hard and very humbling.”
After she suffered the injuries, Barney realized she needed to take advantage of her final season at Florida.
“That’s the most motivating factor right there, other than the fact that these are 30 or so of my sisters,” she said.
“I want to play for them, and I want to win for them.”
So far, Barney has matched her words with her play.
Her 10 shots rank third on the team behind senior midfielder Erika Tymrak (16) and sophomore midfielder Havana Solaun (12).
She’s also had more of an impact, seeing her playing time increase to 62.2 minutes per game — 19.1 more than in 2011.
Part of her resurgence has come from improvement on her checking runs, Burleigh said.
“We’ve talked about her playing on a two-touch must, which means she must take two touches before releasing the ball,” Burleigh said.
“That’s a good thing for her, because sometimes when she tries to play on one touch, she breaks down.”
But another factor propelling Barney’s success has been timing.
“The more she disciplines herself to get in the box and to be in the right place at the right time,” Burleigh said, “the more goals are going to come.”
Redshirt senior forward McKenzie Barney scored only four goals in 2011 and missed the end of the year due to injury, but she has returned to form this season.
