It was a game of déjà vu. For the second time this season, Florida and Duke played for 120 minutes. And both times the two teams left everything out on the field.
But Sunday afternoon, Becky Burleigh’s Gators ran out of gas when the clock wasn’t even ticking.
No. 5 Florida, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, lost to the Blue Devils in a penalty shootout, leaving a sad taste in many Gators’ mouths.
“Obviously that was a disappointing finish to a great season,” Burleigh said. “I hand it to Duke. They defended hard. I thought that they played really hard.”
In a physical battle that pitted the two familiar opponents, Duke was able to outlast Florida by scoring all four of its penalty kick opportunities. After a scoreless two halves and two overtimes, a terrific season that included sweeping the Southeastern Conference Championships was down to who could kick the ball the best from 12 yards away.
“We had to be at the top of our game,” Duke coach Robbie Church said. “We got by by the slimmest of margins. It’s a tough way to win and a tough way to lose.”
The game was controlled by a constant ebb and flow. Both teams defended relentlessly, and at times the referee seemed to lose control.
There were a combined 27 fouls in the game, but one that wasn’t called was perhaps the play of the game.
With less than a minute to go in the second overtime, SEC Tournament MVP Erika Tymrak possessed the ball at the top of Duke’s box. Quickly changing direction to get the ball back on her right foot, Tymrak was body-checked by a Blue Devils defender. But there was no call.
In a game in which the referee kept the whistle close, a packed James G. Pressly Stadium went nuts when he decided not to make the call.
However, the officials did not decide the game, as Florida failed to mount constant pressure on the Duke defense.
“We were not able to break them down enough to get good opportunities,” Burleigh said. “It just seemed like we were just a little bit out of sync in terms of our passing and connecting with each other.”
