HAMMOND -- The math is getting more complicated for the Northwestern State soccer program trying to make its second straight Southland Conference Tournament, but the Lady Demons aren't out yet with three matches left to play.
 
NSU (5-10, 1-7 SLC) will need to win its last three matches, starting this weekend on the road at Southeastern on Friday and Nicholls on Sunday. Friday's match is at 7 p.m. and Sunday's match is at 1 p.m.
 
Both the Lions (3-9-3, 1-5-2) and the Colonels (5-9-1, 2-5-1) are on the outside of the conference tournament picture currently, but NSU coach George Van Linder says his Lady Demons just have to keep things simple in their quest to push its way to one of eight seeds.
 
"We've played well enough, it's just the little things that have gotten us," Van Linder said. "It's not a lack of effort, it's just the ball isn't bouncing our way.
 
"We're reminding our players of all the things they do right, and that past performances don't indicate who they are as players. We have quality players, and we knew that coming in and so did the conference with the recognition our players received. We have to put what's happened so far behind us and adhere to that ol' cliché' of one game at a time."
 
NSU has battled favorably against the SLC's top teams, falling to the league's top four teams by a combined five goals with two overtime losses.
 
But the Lady Demons suffered losses to No. 6 Abilene Christian, No. 7 Sam Houston State and No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, including two of those defeats at home.
 
NSU has three points from its lone conference win this season while the Bearkats (3-4-1 SLC) and Wildcats (3-4-1 SLC), currently the last two seeds in the tournament, have 10 points each.
 
The Lady Demons can get to 12 points with three wins (Nicholls, Southeastern and No. 5 Central Arkansas), but the postseason push will end if both SHSU and TAMU-CC  get a win or two ties in their last three outings.
 
SHSU and TAMU-CC own tiebreakers over NSU after winning contests in Natchitoches this year.
 
The remaining road for the Bearkats and Islanders isn't easy.
 
The Bearkats travel to No. 6 Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word before returning to face No. 3 Stephen F. Austin. The Islanders face three of the top four teams in McNeese, Lamar and Houston Baptist.
 
All the Lady Demons can do to control their destiny is win out, and "the little things" is what senior Cache' Haley said the Lady Demons are paying extra attention to in hopes of turning previous close losses into future wins.
 
"The push to want to have a postseason will help us," Haley said. "We're continuing to work on those little breakdowns we sometimes have.
 
"We're continuing to encourage each other from the sidelines and communicate better on the field. We have to be more selfless and work together as a team."
 
Haley is one of 10 seniors who hope to return to the Southland Conference Tournament one year after ending NSU's eight-year drought in 2016.
 
Southeastern's lone win came against Incarnate Word, but the Lions have been competitive with two ties and two one-goal losses.
 
NSU beat Southeastern 4-0 in 2016 with two goals from Haley.
 
The Lady Demons are 1-0-1 against Southeastern in the past two seasons.