USF women’s lacrosse faced a tight game against Towson with a loss of 13-12 on Sunday afternoon at Corbett Stadium. 

While the Bulls (3-2) ended with defeat, they had a strong start to the game, as they led 5-1 with less than nine minutes of the first quarter remaining.

South Florida Midfielder Kaitlyn Tartaglione scored the first goal of the game, giving USF an early start.

“We won the draw so we got those possessions,” Head coach Mindy McCord said after the game. “It comes down to our sniping percentage.”

Related: USF women’s lacrosse battles Florida, suffers first loss of inaugural season

Towson caught up to the Bulls by the end of the first quarter with a score of 5-5.

The second quarter stayed at an intense pace, as four minutes in, both teams fought to score. The Bulls and Towson were neck-to-neck the entire game, fighting to make the first goal of the second quarter. 

Neither team were able to get through each other’s defense until the 10:39 mark when Towson took the first goal of the second quarter and led with 6-5.

“It’s our own unforced error,” McCord said. “We have to learn, clean that up and make it easier on ourselves as we go down the pike.”

At the 8:16 mark of the second quarter, freshman midfielder Kali Cleary brought South Florida back to a tie, scoring her second goal of the season.

Attacker Alison Harbaugh dug the Bulls out a hole nearing the end of the first half, earning her 6th goal of the season. USF led at 7-6. 

The Bulls lead at the end of the first half by a score of 8-6. 

Towson turned the game around in the second half. They scored the first goal of the third quarter and caught up with a score of 8-8 at the 8:18 mark.

South Florida slowed down the pace of attempted shots, facing a score of 8-9, Bulls losing.

Towson took the lead with five minutes remaining, scoring another goal while USF trails behind by two points (8-10).

South Florida bounced back at the 2:02 mark, as Sofia Chepenik brought back a tie of 10-10. Chepnik ended the game with 15 goals for the season.

The 3rd quarter ended with a 10-10 tie.

“If you look at the shots, you know, we probably are just creating our own close game,” McCord said.

The fourth quarter started at a draw and both teams had high stakes. USF and Towson  were back-and-forth, as Towson broke the tie, the Bulls would catch up right after.

With less than six minutes left of the game, Towson led with 12-11.

At the 3:48 mark, USF midfielder Bailey Morris brought the game back to a tie, at 12-12.

Towson scored at the 1:57 mark, breaking the tie and leaving the Bulls with less than two minutes for a comeback.

USF midfielder Bailey Morris shot with 21 seconds left but missed, giving Towson the 13-12 victory.

Women’s lacrosse faces St. Bonaventure at home at 1 p.m. on March 2.