Colleges: Bulls drop second straight, miss out on tournament bye

South Florida had its eyes on a bye and home game in the Big East tournament quarterfinals next weekend.

The Bulls will get a home game to open the playoffs, but it will be against DePaul on Thursday night as a late goal by Tina Romagnuolo gave Syracuse a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon, dropping the Bulls into fourth place in the Big East American division standings.

Romagnuolo gave the Orange the lead in the 11th minute, scoring from the left side of the penalty area after being found by a cross from the right by Casey Ramirez. Syracuse the doubled its lead in the 53rd minute as Tessa MacDougal converted from the spot after a USF handball in its penalty area.

The Bulls hit back, Noelle Pineiro proving critical as she earned assists on both Bulls’ goals. Chelsea Klotz was the first recipient of Pineiro’s creativity, scoring her eighth goal of the season in the 64th minute, and Angelique Waller tied the game with a header from Pineiro’s corner 13 minutes later.

But the Bulls couldn’t complete the comeback as Romagnuolo picked the ball up off a throw-in, beat her defender and shot home for her ninth goal of the season.

The win was the second straight for the Bulls, who will need to regain their form quickly as they prepare to face the Blue Demons. DePaul lost 1-0 to Villanova in its final game of the regular season on Sunday.