LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State will tackle its final two soccer games of the season this weekend when it visits McNeese State at 7 on Friday, followed by a 1 o'clock kickoff at Lamar on Sunday in Southland Conference action.

NSU (7-9-1, 1-5-1 SLC) was officially eliminated from contention for a spot in the postseason conference tournament on Sunday when Southeastern Louisiana defeated Sam Houston State 1-0 in double-overtime.  The Lady Demons needed to win their final two games and have SLU lose its remaining three to get into the tournament.

But despite missing out on the 6-team single-elimination event, head coach Jimmy Mitchell said his team will not lie down for the remainder of the season.

“This is a great group of girls,” said Mitchell.  “Monday is usually our day off from practice but we get a little run in.  And the girls were down because of what happened on Sunday.  But when practice rolled around on Tuesday, they had a fire under them.”

With two wins, the Lady Demons will finish seventh in the league standings – two places higher than what they were predicted to finish in the preseason polls (9th).  And if there is a bright side to things, Mitchell will welcome back 15 players with starting experience next year, including eight that were regular starters this season.  And all but three players that scored a goal will return as well.

McNeese State will enter Friday's contest 2-5 in conference play and 7-10 overall while Lamar is 4-2-1 in the league and 7-7-2 overall.  The Lady Cardinals started out the conference season 4-0 but has since gone 0-2-1 in their last three games.