TAMPA, Fla., April 29, 2026 – At mid-season, the fast-rising USF women's lacrosse team realized what it was truly chasing in the program's second season.
 
It wasn't just a championship.
 
It was history. It was legacy.
 
Before the tournament, coach Mindy McCord gathered her players and posed a question.
 
"At some point in my career, I'll be here standing in front of some USF team that's going to accomplish a regular-season championship, a conference tournament championship, and the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament," she said. "That is going to happen. Who will that team be? Why not you?"
 
"It doesn't have to be you. It could be next year. It could be the year after that. I don't care. But there's only one group, one team, that will have that memory, that legacy. Only one team can be the first to do that. Do you want to be that team?"
 
Now you know why the No. 25-ranked Bulls — already with an American Conference regular-season title tucked away — wouldn't dare rest on any laurels heading to the league tournament in Nashville.
 
With the top-seeded Bulls (11-4, 6-0) facing a Thursday semifinal against Temple (12-4, 3-3) — and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line — USF's players say they are steely-eyed and locked in.
 
"Oh my gosh, we are bound and determined to be that team," senior attack Elise Grissett said. "Some teams might start to lose sight or burn out because summer is close. That is not us. We were built the right way. We were built to peak, and we are motivated to get this done."
 
"We want that team to be us," freshman goalkeeper Natalie Eastwood said. "Our coaches came from very successful programs at Jacksonville and Stanford to build something here at USF. A lot of girls transferred here and took a year off from competing at top-caliber schools to help build it. So you better believe there's a drive within every single one of us — especially to do it for the people who sacrificed so much and allowed us to have this opportunity."
 
Just being in this position was McCord's vision. Before taking the field in 2025's inaugural season, she assembled an ambitious non-conference schedule that included defeats against Michigan (16-10), Navy (19-8), and Florida (14-8) — competitive losses to top-10 teams, by design.
 
"We assembled a team with players who had very little Division I experience because we recruited traditionally and sprinkled some transfers in through the portal," McCord said. "From the start, we were recruiting players to win championships as soon as we could. But it usually takes more time than this."
 
"Every time we step out there, we're playing to win. What we've done, I guess, is a little bit out of the ordinary."
 
USF and Florida (2011) are the only Division I women's lacrosse programs to capture a conference title in their second season of existence.
 
The Bulls also prepared for the tournament grind specifically — scheduling a road trip to ODU and Richmond on March 28-30 to simulate playing two games in three days.
 
USF defeated Temple 11-10 on March 14, needing a six-goal fourth-quarter rally in Philadelphia to survive. Thursday's other semifinal features James Madison (11-6, 5-1) against East Carolina (8-8, 3-3). The Bulls defeated both teams in the regular season — JMU 9-7, ECU 17-4.
 
"We want to keep our fate in our hands," Eastwood said. "Win twice, and it's pretty simple."
 
It would also mean another trophy, a championship ring, and a historic spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"I was an outsider last season and knew USF had a new program," Grissett said. "They were 13-5, and I was like, 'Shoot, they're really good.' And now I'm part of it. We are good. We are top-25 good. We are the undefeated regular-season champs in a very competitive conference. So all of this is real."
 
"I think to everyone else who's not part of our team, all of this is coming as a shock," Eastwood said. "There's such a belief the coaches have instilled in us. But we're still not done this year, either."
 
That mid-season question McCord posed to her team still applies.
 
"Win this tournament, get to the NCAAs, and you get to say that you created this legacy and this standard for all the USF teams in years to come," McCord said. "What a powerful opportunity. It's reserved for a small group of people. Everybody talks about history and legacy. Here's a chance to influence it."
 
"We always focus on the opportunity versus the outcome. If you're playing for USF this weekend, that's the question."
 
Why not the Bulls? Why not right now?
 
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About USF Women's Lacrosse
Amidst its second season, the University of South Florida women's lacrosse program builds on a historic inaugural year that quickly established the Bulls as a contender in the American Athletic Conference. South Florida opened its first-ever season on Feb. 7, 2025, with a 19–6 win over Kennesaw State, setting the State of Florida regular-season attendance record as 2,386 fans filled Corbett Stadium. The Bulls went on to finish the 2025 season with a 13–5 record and earned a place in the American Conference Championship in their inaugural season, ultimately finishing as the league's runner-up. South Florida also drew more than 10,000 total fans to Corbett Stadium during the season. USF named Mindy McCord, an eight-time conference coach of the year, as the program's first head coach in May 2022. McCord arrived in Tampa with 240 career wins and a proven record of building successful programs after launching and leading Jacksonville University's women's lacrosse team for its first 13 seasons. During her tenure at JU, she guided the Dolphins to 21 regular-season and conference tournament titles, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and back-to-back Sweet Sixteen berths while developing 13 All-Americans, 81 all-conference selections, and 13 conference Player of the Year honorees. South Florida plays a fast-paced, high-scoring style influenced by the early 1990s Loyola Marymount men's basketball fast break. That approach ranked among the national leaders in shots, points per game, and scoring margin during McCord's tenure at Jacksonville and continues to shape the Bulls' offensive identity heading into year two.
 
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