IRVING, Texas – South Florida officially secured the top seed in the 2026 American Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship, which will be held on April 30-May 2 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bulls, who finished the regular season with a 11-4 record (6-0 American), clinched a berth into the 2026 American Championship with a 22-11 win over Charlotte on April 11. USF then locked up the top tournament seed thanks to a 17-4 victory against East Carolina on April 18 and brought home an outright regular-season championship with a 12-9 triumph at Vanderbilt on April 25.

USF earned its first regular-season conference title in its second season as an American women's lacrosse member, becoming the third different team to capture the top tournament seed in league history. The number one seed has won five of the six American Women’s Lacrosse Championships that have been contested since 2019.

USF will face No. 4 seed Temple (12-4, 3-3 American) in the tournament opener on April 30 at 4:30 p.m. CT. The Owls clinched the final spot in the tournament field after advancing from a three-way tie with East Carolina and Vanderbilt via a goal differential tiebreaker. Temple returns to the American tournament for the first time since 2022 and will look to make its second championship game appearance with a victory over USF. The Bulls won a narrow 11-10 decision between the teams on March 14 during the regular season.

Thursday’s second semifinal will pit No. 2 seed James Madison against No. 3 seed East Carolina at 7:15 p.m. CT. The Dukes (11-6, 5-1 American) won their final five regular season games against all competition on their way to locking up the number two slot in the American tournament. JMU has been a top-two championship seed in each of its four seasons in the American, capturing the conference tournament title last season as the one seed with an 18-9 win over South Florida in Norfolk, Virginia.

East Carolina (8-8, 3-3 American) closed the regular season with a 21-10 win against Charlotte on April 25 to enter a tie in the standings for the final two tournament slots, advancing via goal differential and claiming the third seed thanks to an 8-7 head-to-head win over Temple in the regular season. The Pirates will return to the American Championship for the second straight season in search of their first championship game appearance.

All games of the 2026 American Women’s Lacrosse Championship will be available on ESPN+, with Noah Frary, Kylie Ohlmiller and Maria Trivelpiece on the call. The most up-to-date information on the tournament will be available on the
conference’s Championship Central site.

2026 AMERICAN CONFERENCE WOMEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
April 30 and May 2 | FirstBank Stadium | Nashville, Tennessee
 

Semifinals | Thursday, April 30 | ESPN+
No. 4 Temple (12-4) vs. No. 1 South Florida (11-4)	4:30 p.m. CT
No. 3 East Carolina (8-8) vs. No. 2 James Madison (11-6)	7:15 p.m. CT
Final | Saturday, May 2 | ESPN+
Semifinal winners	Noon CT