By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA - The Bulls almost pulled off an incredible comeback in Chicago on Friday afternoon.

Lucas Baldin and Sebastien Thuriere scored in the second half of USF's 3-2 loss to DePaul at Wish Field.

DePaul (4-10-4, 1-6-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead at the break thanks to a pair of goals by David Leverentz and a score by Antonio Aguilar.

USF roared back in the second half with Baldin scoring his third goal of the season in the 58^th minute. Thuriere cut the Bulls' deficit in half in the 71^st minute and had a chance to tie things up in the 86^th minute, but keeper Eric Sorby made the save.

USF played much of the match shorthanded after Ben Sweat picked up a red card in the first half. Sweat was called for a handball, but head coach George Kiefer thought it clearly bounced off his chest.

"Watching the game from my vantage spot, I was shocked there even was a penalty kick. I thought the team battled hard after that," Kiefer said.

The Bulls concluded their regular season with an 8-5-4 record and await seeding in the NCAA Tournament. USF was No. 21 in the last RPI ratings after facing several ranked opponents throughout the season.

"This break will serve the team well with all the injuries we have had late in the year," Kiefer said. "We expect to have more guys back that haven't played much all season. The break will be good for them."