Season Rewind: USF's First Season a Win All Around

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2026, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2025.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next week.

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. 

HARVARD

USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason ranking: Unranked/Also considered
2025 record: 9-6 (3-4 Ivy)

What Went Right: The Crimson successfully continued the momentum built in 2024, even if 2025 was a slight step back from that breakthrough campaign. Caroline Mullahy was one of the nation’s best feeders, piling up 49 assists and 72 points. Somewhat quietly, Harvard finished 20th nationally in scoring defense (10.07 goals per game).

What Went Wrong: Harvard failed to make the Ivy League tournament in a highly competitive season in the Ancient Eight. Losses to Brown (12-10) and Cornell (13-12) represented the closest losses, and if one of those results had flipped, Harvard’s postseason hopes would have been met.

Season Highlight: In a showcase of Ivy League talent and parity, Harvard downed Penn 10-8 on April 5. Penn, of course, went on to reach the NCAA quarterfinals after beating Army and Maryland in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Final Verdict: Even though Harvard missed the Ivy League tournament, Devon Wills has the Crimson on the upswing — though replacing Mullahy’s role on offense will be paramount during the summer and fall months.

PENN STATE

USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason ranking: No. 19/Also considered
2025 record: 7-9 (5-3 Big Ten)

What Went Right: If you asked this question on March 16, the answer would have been “very little.” But then the Nittany Lions turned the corner from a 2-7 start, ripping off five straight wins to get back to .500 with hopes of an at-large NCAA tournament berth in reach.

What Went Wrong: That 2-7 start featured a loss to Pitt (12-10) that the Nittany Lions would most assuredly like to have back, and losses to Drexel (14-9) and Cornell (14-8) represented matchups that might have flipped the other way if Penn State ran into them during its hot streak. After reaching 7-7, Penn State’s season ended with consecutive losses to Johns Hopkins — once in overtime (12-11) to conclude the regular season, then once more (13-8) in the Big Ten tournament.

Season Highlight: The Nittany Lions’ 12-11 overtime thriller against Ohio State on April 6 saw them score three unanswered late in the second half to take a one-goal advantage before Ohio State knotted things at 11. Payton Wainman won it in overtime.

Final Verdict: A supremely disappointing season would have been the verdict had it not been for the winning streak that salvaged things, but Penn State just took its time to round into form with a roster built of mostly new impact players. Now with Kayla Treanor in the fold as the head coach, it will be interesting to see the program’s next step.

UALBANY

USA Lacrosse preseason/postseason ranking: Unranked/Also considered
2025 record: 9-10 (4-2 America East)

What Went Right: The Great Danes were 3-8 on March 29 but rallied through conference play and earn an automatic qualifier by beating Bryant in the America East championship game. They even hung with Yale for large parts of the opening round of the NCAA tournament, though the Bulldogs ultimately prevailed. Mikaela Mooney (35G, 34A) and Dylana Williams (50G, 12A) were a consistent 1-2 punch.

What Went Wrong: UAlbany was 81st nationally in scoring defense (12.74 goals per game) and 62nd in scoring offense (12.21 goals per game), finishing with a negative scoring differential. The Great Danes’ top-end talent was strong, but the roster lacked depth.

Season Highlight: Gracie McCauley deposited eight goals in the America East championship game, carrying the Great Danes to their fourth conference championship.

Final Verdict: UAlbany’s season was one of persistence and not getting too down after a 3-8 start. That warrants some praise, even if it will still be difficult moving forward for teams from mid-majors to compete with the beasts of the power conferences on their schedules.