LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Bolstered by a solid Northwestern State defense the entire game, the Lady Demons booted two second-half goals to clip Little Rock 2-0 on Friday in the season opener.

Sophomore forward Brittany Caserma beat Little Rock goalkeeper Sara Small near post in the 61^st minute before sophomore forward April Trowbridge popped a goal over Small's head to put the game away in the 82^nd minute.

But the star of the game was junior goalkeeper Alex Latham, who made a career-high 12 saves to post a shutout in the opener.

Latham and the defense withstood 24 Trojan shots (compared to eight for NSU), but the Bradenton, Fla. native credited her back line for taking away angles from the Little Rock attack.

"Thirteen saves is a lot of work, but my defense made it as easy as possible by cutting down lanes, and I took care of what I took care of," Latham said. "As a whole, we worked really well.

"It's a great confidence booster to get the win. And it's really exciting for our offense to get two goals tonight – that will help us heading into Sunday's game at Ole Miss."

Latham made multiple diving saves, including two in the first half to smother quality scoring chances.

"We've focused the whole preseason on defense, so we needed a good effort tonight," said NSU coach George Van Linder. "Our defense stood up to the challenge and battled even though Little Rock had a lot of chances tonight.

"Little Rock threw the first punch early, but we were pleased with our last 60 minutes and pleased to get a good result on the road."

The Lady Demons (1-0) rebounded from a 10-1 shot deficit at halftime to create more chances in the second half.

Sophomore midfielder Cayla Klinger created NSU's first scoring chance, playing a ball wide to Caserma for her third career assist.

"It was a great ball from Cayla, and we took advantage of the counter attack," said Caserma, who scored the Lady Demons' first goal of the 2015 season as well. "I looked near post like (Van Linder) has been teaching us, and it felt great to finish the goal.

"We kept our composure, and we played better in the second half. We were able to put pressure on them."

Junior forward Esdeina Gonzalez, NSU's leading scorer in 2015, played the passer on Trowbridge's goal to give the Lady Demons a 2-0 lead. The Nova Scotia, Canada, native scored in her first NSU contest.

"I was offside a couple times in the game, so I made sure to stay in front of the defenders," Trowbridge said. "Ezzie and I made eye contact, so I knew she was going to play the ball.

"I decided to chip the goalie, and it worked out."

The Lady Demons stay on the road with a trip to Ole Miss on Sunday at 7 p.m., which will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.