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NASHVILLE \u2013 A hot start in the first quarter lifted top-seeded South Florida to a 13-7 victory over No. 4 seed Temple on Thursday night in the first semifinal game of the 2026 American Conference Women\u2019s Lacrosse Championship at Vanderbilt\u2019s FirstBank Stadium.<\/p>\n
USF (12-4) advanced to the tournament final of the American Championship for the second consecutive year in just its second year as a conference member. The Bulls will face the winner of Thursday\u2019s second semifinal between East Carolina and James Madison on May 2 at noon CT.<\/p>\n
The regular season champion USF squad got off to a fast start in the opening quarter, scoring five goals on 16 shots (10 on goal). Ava Uphues opened the scoring 1:51 into the game to put the Bulls in front 1-0. Goals from Kali Cleary (7:06), Jenna Binkis (5:45), Julia Huxtable (4:35) and Sofia Chepenik (2:36) extended the early lead for USF to 5-0.<\/p>\n
Temple (12-5) clawed back into the contest in the second quarter with goals from Amelia Wright and Kali Saito, but USF found three more goals of its own to take an 8-2 advantage into halftime. The Bulls held a 24-9 edge in total shots after the first 30 minutes, including 17-5 in shots on goal.<\/p>\n
USF extended its lead as high as nine goals at 12-3 following Chepenik\u2019s second of the night with 12:13 left in the fourth quarter, but Temple managed to limit the Bulls to just one goal the remainder of the contest. Saito completed the hat trick with goals at the 8:53 and 3:43 marks, and Wright added a second tally with 5:44 remaining, but a Chepenik and an Elise Grissett hat trick capped the final scoreline for USF at 13-7.<\/p>\n
Both Chepenik and Grissett were tied for the game lead with three goals and one assist to pace USF, while Uphues added a pair of goals and an assist. Maggie Newton contributed a game-high three assists to lead all players representing the Bulls.<\/p>\n
Saito\u2019s hat trick led all Temple scorers, while Wright converted two of her three shots into goals. Sarah Gowman chipped in a goal and an assist for the Owls.
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