NATCHITOCHES -- Sometimes, fingertips make all the difference.
 
Northwestern State goalkeeper Alex Latham flicked a free kick above the crossbar as time expired in a 2-1 win at McNeese in the 2016 regular season.
 
In the Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals, McNeese snuck a shot past Latham to win in overtime, 1-0, ending NSU's best season since 2008.
 
That overtime loss has been in the minds of the Lady Demons (4-4, 0-1 SLC) as they host McNeese (5-2-1, 1-0 SLC) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex.
 
Kids can enjoy a bounce house at the facility, and members of NSU Greek organizations will receive free food.
 
"We're determined not to let that happen again," senior Chandler Monk said about the heart-breaking, overtime loss. "It's absolutely in the back of our minds.
 
"It's been kind of rough to play only one home game in Natchitoches so far this season, so we're excited to come out here and have our fans to back us up. It really makes a difference in the energy of the game."
 
Monk nearly scored the deciding goal in the SLC Tournament matchup, but she couldn't quite reach a ball near the back post late in regulation.
 
NSU is 5-3 against the Cowgirls since 2010 -- all decided by one goal.

"There is no love lost between the two schools," said NSU coach George Van Linder. "We each think ourselves as one of the better teams in the state, and we both play with a lot of heart and emotion.
 
"It's a game that the coaches and players circle on the calendar. We're excited we have so many upperclassmen because they have the idea that being intense and fired up is one thing, but staying focused and doing the job on the field is another."
 
The Lady Demons opened conference play on Sept. 15 with a 2-0 loss against Stephen F. Austin, but Van Linder said the Lady Demons learned a lot about themselves in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
"We were disappointed with the result, but at the same time, starting off conference play with a team like SFA gives us a great self-evaluation," Van Linder said. "We got better.
 
"For us, our overall team defending needs to be better. But we match up well with how McNeese likes to play. It's a big in-state rival, and we want to beat them."
 
NSU will be bringing in the No. 8 offense in the nation and best in the conference as the Lady Demons average 2.88 goals per game.
 
Freshman Yeaya Gamboa leads the team and tied for the conference lead with four goals. Upperclassmen April Trowbridge, Cache' Haley and Brittany Caserma each have three goals this season.
 
Caserma scored one of the more memorable goals in the McNeese series two years ago when she collided with the goalkeeper just after she flicked the ball into the corner. McNeese won 2-1 in overtime.
 
"The weird thing is I don't remember games … but I remember that game so clearly," Caserma said. "I scraped my whole chin open on that goal.
 
"It's funny now, but at that moment, it sucked. We're looking forward to this game (Friday) with all of us being frustrated by the (SLC Tournament) loss."
 
McNeese opened SLC play with a 2-0 win against Southeastern.
 
The Cowgirls' defense has been stout, allowing just two goals in their eight matches this season and posting six shutouts. That mark leads the conference and tied for No. 3 in the nation.
 
McNeese shut out ULM, UL Lafayette, Wyoming, Southern, Praire View and Southeastern this season. Air Force and Louisiana Tech each scored 1-0 victories against the Cowgirls.