NATCHITOCHES - Winner of its four of five previous games, the Northwestern State Lady Demon soccer team will open Southland Conference play on Friday as they host Central Arkansas at 7 o'clock at the Lady Demon soccer complex. The match marks the first conference game of the season for both teams. 

“We're focused and excited about this opportunity, and feel that it's a great chance for us to make a little bit of noise,” said head coach George Van Linder. “Playing Central Arkansas is a great challenge for us, and its nice to have them at home.”

NSU (5-5) fell to Louisiana-Lafayette 2-1 on Sunday. UCA (8-2) defeated Texas Southern 5-2 on Sunday. The Bears currently lead the NCAA Division I in most goals with 38. 

The Lady Demons got off to an early start, scoring at the 20-minute mark when freshman Shelby Balmer earned her first collegiate goal as sophomore Taylor Mulnix crossed the ball in from outside of the box directly to goalkeeper Amanda Moorefield. Moorfield bobbled the ball and lost control, giving Balmer the scoring opportunity.

ULL was granted a penalty kick less than nine minutes into the second half, and did not hesitate to take advantage of it. Hayden Gibson shot low and into the corner, out of reach of freshman goalkeeper Brooke Bourbonais.

With nine minutes remaining in the game, the Ragin' Cajuns' Melissa Minton found the back of the net as she dribbled into the box and shot low. 

UCA is led by Adriana Lucar, who has notched 14 goals and two assists on the season. Having scored two hat tricks and multiple goals in almost every game this season, Lucar currently sits at the top of the scoring column for all of Division I women's soccer.

After getting off to a rough start at Baylor and Oral Roberts, losing both contests 5-0, the Lady Demons have seen big wins over Texas Southern, Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas Pine-bluff and look to add more tallies to the win column.

“We came into the season with a slow start, but we're coming into conference play with some momentum so we should do pretty well,” said Van Linder.

The Lady Demons are led by junior Yanci Johnson with six goals, one assist and 29 shots, surpassing the amount of goals scored in her college career. Johnson was named Southland Conference Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 28th.  Fellow classmate Ashlee Savona is second in goals with four, and has added three assists. Both Johnson and Savona have started all 10 contests.

Freshman Cassandra Briscoe has found the back of the net three times, two of those times occurring at Arkansas-Little Rock. Briscoe led the team to their first road victory, and the start to a four game winning streak, the longest the team has experienced since 2009, when the Lady Demons came out winning their first five games of the season.

The midfield is led by senior Theresa Halle. Halle has started every game, recording one assist. She sits right behind Johnson in shots with 24.

Defenders Jackie Strug and Danielle Harding have been staples in the NSU defense, both starting all 10 contests, and allowing only 81 shots. Strug has notched three goals so far, due to the multiple scoring opportunities she has had on free kicks.   While Harding has not recorded any points, her speed and high work rate have made a large impact on the team's success so far this season.

Freshman Brooke Bourbonais has also started in all 10 games, recording three shutouts. Bourbonais has made 52 saves, and holds a .732 save percentage.