NATCHITOCHES -- The Northwestern State soccer team is no stranger to the road, even playing its first two "home" games in Alexandria and Shreveport because of wet field conditions at Lady Demon Soccer Complex.

The Lady Demons end their non-conference schedule this weekend with road trips to UTSA on Friday and Texas State on Sunday.

NSU (3-2), who will play the Roadrunners at 7 p.m., revamped its offense this past weekend by scoring a total of nine goals in wins against Jackson State and NAIA member Texas Wesleyan.

"We've played tough opponents early in non-conference, and this will be another great test for us," said NSU coach George Van Linder. "The school did a lot of work on our field this summer, and it held up under the first week of rain really well.

"But under the continual rain, it just finally gave in. It's doing well now, but it's still fragile. Brittany Caserma found a crawfish on our field earlier this week, and that got a big reaction from our team."

For a team that expected opponents to focus much of its attention on 2015's leading scorer Esdeina Gonzalez, the Lady Demons have quickly developed offensive options and depth.

Three NSU players lead the team with three goals each -- and not one of them is Gonzalez, who scored a team-high six goals in 2015.

Senior midfielder Camila Ardila, the reigning Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week, scored all three of her goals this past weekend. Sophomore forwards April Trowbridge and Caserma also have three goals each to account for nine of NSU's 11 goals through five games.

"The depth has been great for us," Van Linder said. "We went back to the drawing board and came up with some new ideas, and we can test them out against tough competition this weekend.

"Camila is so knowledgeable about the game, and when she's confident, we expect big things from her just as she expects big things from herself. We were hoping April would do good things, but she's been a pleasant surprise and has taken pressure off our other scorers. Brittany is tough and plays strong, and her direct play has been a benefit to us."

Gonzalez certainly hasn't faded into the background, although she's shifted back to the midfield. The junior has three assists this season, matching her three assists combined in her first two seasons.

"It's pretty cool for me to be in the midfield, and it's something different for our opponents to see," Gonzalez said. "Opponents hadn't seen me be in the midfield and that I can draw defenders in to open it up for someone else to score. 

"We can shake up the other team because we have players who can finish balls."

UTSA (3-2) continues its diet of Southland Conference as the Roadrunners prepare to play its sixth league opponent. 

The Roadrunners lost to 2015 league champion Stephen F. Austin 3-2 on Sunday after beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6-1 on Friday. Other scores this season include wins against Incarnate Word (4-0), Abilene Christian (4-1) and Sam Houston State (5-2) with a loss to Houston Baptist (2-0).

A trio of players lead UTSA with three goals each -- Jordyn Lacy, Kaja Skare and Katieann Lochte. The Roadrunners have already surpassed their win total (one) and goals scored (14) from the 2015 season.