USF women's lacrosse wins conference title in second season

TAMPA, Fla. - What started as nothing more than a vision nearly four years ago has officially come into focus for the USF women's lacrosse team. 

"When you can't see, feel or touch something, you need a lot of people that can put a lot of trust and belief in the vision," said Bulls head coach Mindy McCord. 

When Mindy McCord stepped onto the campus of South Florida back in 2022, she began the two-year task of building the school's new women's lacrosse program from scratch.

"We all came here with nothing," said junior attacker Sofia Chepenik.

"We couldn't see anything but the belief that we had in each other, this program and our coaches." 

The backstory:

Before the Bulls' inaugural season in 2025, players spent more than a year practicing and scrimmaging other teams only. 

But nearly two years of practice and preparation have paid off for the Bulls in just their second season. 

"I said, 'One team, I'll be standing in front of one team where we get to create program history and get the first championship. And I hope it's you.' And it was," McCord recalls. 

By the numbers:

The Bulls finished the regular season with an (11-4) record while going undefeated (6-0) in conference to capture an outright American conference regular season title. 

They join Florida as the only Division I women's lacrosse programs to win a conference crown within their first two years of existence.

What they're saying:

"It's pretty incredible that we're so new, and we're still building," said sophomore goalkeeper Nat Eastwood. 

Now, with the program's first conference title secured, this batch of Bulls has set the bar for future generations of the team. 

"We finally set the standard of 'You come here to win championships,'" Chepenik said. "Every team after has that same expectation."

What may have started out as a dream four years ago has now become reality for the Bulls.

"This is one part of that dream. There's still so much more we can accomplish," McCord said. 

What's next:

The Bulls begin play in the American Conference tournament Thursday in Nashville as they look to secure an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time ever.