As she observed her team's sluggishness at the outset of its most anticipated regular season match to date, USF coach Denise Schilte-Brown inwardly longed for a chance to return to the locker room and start all over.
Mother Nature obliged.
Apparently reinvigorated after a 43-minute lightning delay, the 24th-ranked Bulls (8-1-1) got a goal from Newsome High alumnus Jackie Simpson in the 79th minute to clinch a 1-0 triumph Thursday evening against No. 20 Connecticut (8-2) at Corbett Stadium.
The win partially avenged the Huskies' victory -- via penalty kicks -- on the same pitch last November in the American Athletic Conference tournament final.