TAMPA, Fla. – History doesn’t usually happen this fast, but the South Florida women’s lacrosse team clearly didn’t get the memo. On Saturday afternoon in Nashville, the Bulls capped off a perfect conference run by taking down Vanderbilt 12-9, officially securing the outright American Conference regular-season title in only their second year as a program.
With the win at the Vanderbilt LAX Complex, USF finishes the regular season with an 11-4 overall record and a flawless 7-0 mark in conference play. The feat puts them in elite company; they join Florida as the only two programs in Division I women’s lacrosse history to snag a conference championship within their first two seasons of existence.
The afternoon belonged to redshirt junior Sofia Chepenik. She put the team on her back by matching a program record with six goals, a career-high for the standout who has found the back of the net in every single game this season.
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The path to the trophy wasn’t exactly a cakewalk. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first quarter, fueled by a four-goal explosion from Shea Panzik. The Bulls found themselves trailing 7-6 at the half after a back-and-forth second quarter that saw Chepenik score three times, including a crucial man-down goal.
Everything changed after the halftime break. USF came out aggressive, with Chepenik firing off two quick man-up goals in the first three minutes of the third quarter to snatch the lead for good. Madisyn Jokerst and Ava Uphues added goals to extend the cushion to 10-7. While Vanderbilt tried to claw back with a pair of free-position goals in the final frame, Julia Huxtable slammed the door shut with a man-up goal at the 3:34 mark to finalize the score.
The stat sheet favored the Bulls, who outshot the Commodores 32-22. In the net, sophomore Natalie Eastwood was a wall, racking up nine saves to protect the lead. USF’s special teams proved to be the difference-maker, as the Bulls converted three of their five man-up opportunities to neutralize Vanderbilt’s 15-8 advantage in draw controls.
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Beyond Chepenik’s seven-point performance, Ava Uphues finished with two goals and an assist, while Elise Grissett contributed a goal and a key assist on the final scoring play.
The Bulls now head into the American Conference Tournament as the undisputed No. 1 seed. They are scheduled to face Temple on Thursday, April 30, at 4:30 p.m. CT, looking to turn their regular-season dominance into a tournament trophy.
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