ABILENE, Texas – After scrapping, clawing and fighting for a comeback win at Incarnate Word on Friday, Northwestern State will trek across Texas to try and knock off Abilene Christian (4-7, 2-2 SLC) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Junior forward Brittany Caserma scored two goals in a three-minute stretch of the second half to dig the Lady Demons (5-6, 1-3 Southland Conference) out of a one-goal deficit for NSU's first conference win of the season.
 
The Lady Demons pulled themselves out of the cellar into a four-way tie for ninth place in the SLC, one spot out of conference tournament contention.
 
Caserma hopes Friday's win will push the Lady Demons to continue its second-half intensity throughout entire games.
 
"We definitely needed to come out of that depression after losing our first three conference games," Caserma said Friday as she pulled into the team lead and tied for the conference lead with six goals this season. "We needed this one, and we're hyped and pumped for Sunday against Abilene Christian.
 
"We definitely want to get the second win on the weekend, and we want to get out there and play well."
 
Caserma's six goals is already a career-high, topping four goals from each her freshman and sophomore seasons. The Murrieta, California, native has 14 career goals.
 
ACU allowed a late goal to Central Arkansas in 2-1 loss at home Friday.
 
The Wildcats are on a two-game losing streak after falling at Nicholls on Sept. 24.
 
But ACU has been a conference power since joining the league, finishing third in 2016 despite not being eligible for the conference tournament. ACU has finished in the top four since joining the league in 2013.
 
NSU recorded its first-ever win against Abilene Christian in 2016 when Esdeina Gonzalez flicked an overtime header into the goal for perhaps the most memorable of her 18 career goals, just six away from NSU's top-five charts.
 
Gonzalez has been more of a distributor this season with one goal and three assists as NSU coach George Van Linder attempts to get more of his attackers on the field at the same time.
 
"We'll need to have a great start against a really tough opponent in Abilene Christian," Van Linder said. "We beat them last year in overtime, and I'm sure they remember that game and have had this game circled on their calendar.
 
"But we have a lot of respect for Abilene, and they've been very good over the years. We know if we can put it all together, it will be a heckuva game."
 
Gonzalez is preaching "faster and quicker" earlier in the game, trying to prevent slow starts that NSU suffered through in games like UIW, Lamar and Ole Miss.
 
A win Sunday would put NSU in prime position with a three-game homestand in the next two weeks.