HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Northwestern State forward Esdeina Gonzalez remembers the looks on Sam Houston State faces after she poked in a double-overtime goal with 10 seconds remaining to beat the Bearkats in Natchitoches this past season.
 
Gonzalez, who flicked in an overtime header to beat Abilene Christian this past weekend, knows she and the Lady Demons (7-5, 4-1 Southland Conference) will face a determined Sam Houston State (2-9-1, 2-2-1) team in Huntsville for Friday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
 
"They are coming after us," Gonzalez said. "It's going to be a battle, and we'll have to bring it.
 
"They want to beat us the way we beat them (this past season). We really hurt them when we beat them -- a lot of people were crying."
 
Sophomore forward Jacqueline Manza said her assist on Gonzalez's near-buzzer beater was the highlight of her freshman season.
 
Now the Lady Demons will be tasked with winning on the road -- a rare occurrence in this series. The home team has won the last six matches and nine of the last 10.
 
But an NSU squad sitting in third place behind leader Stephen F. Austin (8-2, 5-0 SLC) and Central Arkansas (9-3-1, 4-0-1) has been rewriting its history this season.
 
The Lady Demons' 7-5 start is their best since 2011, and the 4-1 SLC start is the program's best since 2008, the last time its made the conference tournament.
 
Success in one-goal matches -- all four of NSU's league wins have been by one goal -- has been a factor in the turnaround after posting a 1-7 record in one-goal matches the past two seasons.
 
"We've gotten experience from those games and from the tough games we've played this season," said NSU coach George Van Linder. "We battled Little Rock in a nailbiter to go with the conference wins, and that gives us confidence.
 
"Having so many juniors (10) who've been through those tough losses has helped. We know what it takes to win those games now."
 
Gonzalez and senior Patry Carrion credited an improved closeness among the team as a reason for the grit in late-game situations.
 
"Winning these last four has made us stronger and closer, and every time we win, we get more excited," said Carrion, one of three seniors on the team. "We like that feeling, and it makes us work even harder to win the next one.
 
"We learned from last year, having lost by such small margins. We're staying in the game and not making those same mistakes that cost us games. We're finishing our chances, too."
 
Carrion is the reigning SLC Defender of the Week after her assist to Gonzalez on a game-winning header along with a game-winning penalty supported her staunch defense.
 
The TCU transfer has two goals and one assist in her second NSU season.
 
Junior goalkeeper Alex Latham won her third SLC Goalkeeper of the Week award, posting five shutouts with a 1.21 goals against average. Her five shutouts in a season is the most at NSU since Lindy Strahan had seven in 2009.
 
NSU's first objective this season was to make the six-team SLC Tournament, but the quick start has put the Lady Demons in play for a conference regular season title and one of two first-round tournament byes.
 
The Lady Demons already have lost to leader SFA 1-0 in Natchitoches, but they still control their own destiny when it comes to a bye.
 
"They are enjoying this, but at the same time, we know we haven't done anything until we make it to the conference tournament," Van Linder said. "They've done a great job of staying hungry and not getting too full of themselves.
 
"We have great leadership, and we know we haven't done anything yet."
 
Despite SHSU not winning a nonconference game, including seven losses of at least three goals, the Bearkats have found their groove in league play.
 
The Kats tied a solid Houston Baptist team before beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar, the latter in overtime.
 
"They have a really good coach whom we respect, and they can throw us all kinds of different looks," Van Linder said. "We can see where if a couple more things go their way, and they get a few more wins, they are back in the league conversation.
 
"They are getting better every day."
 
NSU plays just one game this weekend before finishing its three-game road swing at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Houston Baptist next weekend.