USC
USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason ranking: No. 20/Also considered
2025 record: 10-7 (3-5 Big Ten)
What Went Right: The Women of Troy beat Ohio State and Rutgers, two teams with postseason experience coming out of the Big Ten in the past few seasons. Isabelle Vitale (30G, 45A) and Maddie Dora (64G, 6A) were a formidable combination, and Anna Regan’s ability to win draws (112) helped give them plenty of possessions.
What Went Wrong: USC’s first season in the Big Ten lacked a signature win, and the Women of Troy faded down the stretch to lose 20-9 to Michigan in the opening round of the conference tournament. USC ranked 106th out of 120 teams with a save percentage of 37.9.
Season Highlight: A seven-game winning streak from Feb. 14-March 14 brought USC’s record above .500, where it would stay despite some late-season struggles in the conference.
Final Verdict: USC lacked the same stingy defense we’ve been accustomed to seeing out of Lindsey Munday’s zone, and the goalie situation didn’t help. It was a solid, if unspectacular, first season in the Big Ten.
USF
USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason ranking: Unranked/Unranked
2025 record: 13-5 (4-2 AAC)
What Went Right: As far as inaugural seasons go, it’s hard to do much better than USF in 2025. The Bulls beat conference staple Temple (15-9), ASUN champion Liberty (18-12) and beat East Carolina in the semifinals of the AAC tournament (14-12). Three players produced 52 points or more — Sofia Chepenik (66), Juliana George (61) and Maggie Newton (52) — and USF ranked eighth nationally with 15.61 goals per game.
What Went Wrong: It mainly came down to experience, something that would be difficult for any first-year program to fabricate. McCord did bring in transfers to help the cause and show the underclassmen the way, and it’s truly difficult to ding USF too much in its first season.
Season Highlight: Liberty had yet to truly establish itself as the ASUN favorite on April 6, but looking back, USF’s 18-12 win over the Flames was certainly impressive. The Bulls deposited 11 first-half goals, got five goals from Ava Uphues and didn’t relent over four quarters.
Final Verdict: It’s hard not to give USF any grade below an ‘A’ in terms of the product that’s been built. USF is drawing fans, generating buzz and putting a team on the field worthy of attention.
COLORADO
USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason rank: Also considered/Unranked
2025 record: 8-8 (4-1 Big 12)
What Went Right: For as rocky as Colorado’s season was (pun intended), the Buffs notched a pair of signature wins against Army and Stony Brook — both eventual NCAA tournament teams. Madeline Pisani (42G, 26A) finished strong as a graduate student, and Jess Peluso (96DC, 29GB, 19CT) was a force in earning possession in a variety of ways.
What Went Wrong: An 0-3 start, albeit against a trio of powerful non-conference opponents, didn’t help, nor did an 11-9 loss to Dartmouth on March 23. Scoring was a big issue for the Buffs, who finished in a tie for 80th nationally out of 120 teams with an average of 11.12 goals per game.
Season Highlight: A 7-6 win over Stony Brook on March 20 was a big one, and had Colorado made the NCAA tournament, that win could have been solely responsible for its selection. Although the offense wasn’t completely firing against the Seawolves, this marked arguably the team’s best defensive performance of the spring.
Final Verdict: This spring was the first time Colorado has finished with a non-winning record since the program made its debut in 2014, and the Buffs haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2019. Despite two notable wins, it’s a season to learn from in Boulder.