The University of South Florida women’s lacrosse team is heading to Nashville this week with a chance to etch their names into the national record books.
On Thursday, April 30, the top-seeded Bulls will face off against the No. 4 seed Temple Owls in the American Conference championship semifinals. The match is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. ET draw at FirstBank Stadium and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
South Florida (11-4, 6-0 American) arrives in Tennessee following a dominant regular season. By finishing a perfect 6-0 in conference play, the Bulls secured their first-ever outright regular-season title.
Their most recent victory, a 12-9 win over Vanderbilt last Saturday, pushed the team to a program-high No. 14 in the NCAA RPI and earned them a No. 25 ranking in the InsideLacrosse Media Poll—the first top-25 appearance in the program’s short history.
The stakes go beyond a conference trophy. USF is currently only the second program in NCAA Division I history to win a conference championship within its first two seasons, following in the footsteps of the University of Florida in 2011.
If the Bulls claim the tournament title this weekend, they will become the first-ever D1 program to win a postseason conference championship within its first two years of existence. A tournament win would also likely punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, a feat previously achieved only by Florida during its second year of play.
Standing in their way is a Temple team (12-4, 3-3 American) that finished the season on a four-game winning streak. While the Bulls hold a 2-0 all-time series lead over the Owls—including a narrow 11-10 comeback victory in Philadelphia earlier this March—Temple brings a massive amount of historical pedigree to the field.
READ: From Big League Dugouts To The Diamond: The Rise Of USF’s Jevin Relaford
The Owls have made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and are one of only eight programs in the country to own multiple national championships, having won titles in 1984 and 1988.
Statistically, South Florida enters the tournament as one of the most aggressive offensive units in the country. The Bulls rank fourth nationally in shots per game (35.6) and eighth in shots on goal (24.4). Their scoring offense sits at No. 19 in the country, averaging 14.27 goals per game.
The Bulls have relied heavily on standout individual performances to fuel their record-breaking season. Sofia Chepenik leads the offensive charge with 60 points, while Maggie Newton has served as the primary playmaker with 31 assists, placing her among the top 40 creators in the nation.
Defensively, USF has maintained its edge by leading the conference in draw controls (14.8 per game) and ranking 11th nationally in ground balls per game.
Thursday’s winner will advance to the American Conference championship game to face either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed for the title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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