TAMPA, Fla. – The schedule in this inaugural season of women’s lacrosse at USF is evaporating quickly. There are only three games remaining before the American Conference’s top four teams convene in Norfolk, Vir. on the campus of Old Dominion University.
If Mindy McCord’s Bulls (19-3/3-1) defeat ODU in Saturday’s matinee (noon) at Corbett Stadium – get there by 11:15 to salute the seniors – they will clinch a spot in the tourney. Their final two regular season games are next Saturday at James Madison, which enters this weekend 3-0 in conference play, and a non-conference date at home against Stetson on April 23. The American tourney is May 1-3.
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“I think we are in the driver’s seat to accomplish our goal, which is to play in the conference tournament,” said McCord, whose squad is 10-3, including 3-1 in the conference. “Any time you can get postseason opportunities to continue to play, especially for a young team like us, it is super beneficial.”
The Bulls have been a blast to watch. McCord and her staff emphasize an up-tempo style that, as she stated earlier this season, ideally produces 40 shot attempts per game. Led by Sofia Chepenik, whose 42 goals pace the American, USF has scored at least 11 goals in all 13 games and are averaging 16.46 per game to rank fourth nationally.
Above and beyond the gaudy stats, it is how the group goes about its work that has impressed McCord the most.
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“It’s been neat to see their level of enjoyment with each other, and their relationships,” she said. “They really are having fun being together. That’s a big part of it because when you have good relationships, you enjoy going out into the grind and accomplishing more together. I think our culture in action is something that is real, has been working and not just something that we say.”
Mindy’s Milestone Win
An 18-12 victory at Liberty last Sunday was McCord’s 250th as a collegiate coach, a career that began in 1996 at Oberlin (Ohio) College where she spent four years. That was followed four years at McDaniel College in her native Maryland, and 13 years at Jacksonville University. She built JU into a top-flight program that made eight NCAA tourney appearances.
“It takes everybody sharing a common vision, and a little luck along the way,” she said. “It makes me feel old, a little bit, but it puts me in a reflective mindset of how many years have gone by and thinking about all of the special teams that we built and had a lot of belief in.”
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