HOUSTON, Texas -- Mentality.
 
That's the word senior midfielder April Ficarrotta used when describing what she thinks will help Northwestern State soccer turn close losses into wins.
 
And the Nevada native said she's seen a drastic change in the Lady Demons' mentality as they prepare to travel to Houston Baptist for a Friday match at 7 p.m.
 
"We've talked about a lot of things to make that jump," Ficarrotta said. "We believe if we put our minds to it, anything can happen.
 
"That's the final step of getting to where we want to be. These girls have put in a lot of work, and so far it hasn't shown in the (results). We know we're good enough, we just have to show up every day and prove it to others."
 
NSU (7-7, 1-5 Southland Conference) is trying to make a late-season run with five regular season matches left.
 
Two of those will be played Friday at first-place HBU (7-5-1, 5-0-1 SLC) and Sunday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-4-3, 2-2-2 SLC).
 
Eight teams in the 12-team league make the league tournament, and NSU sits in 11^th place. The Lady Demons need to jump at least two teams to make the field, and the two teams sitting in front of them -- Sam Houston State and SFA -- have each already beaten NSU.
 
Even more important than game-by-game updating of standings, NSU first-year co-head coach Jess Jobe is seeking consistency from a team that has just seven juniors and seniors compared to 13 freshmen.
 
"We're still learning how to be consistent," Jobe said. "In order to be successful at this level, you have to have full commitment, and we're getting there.
 
"But we're not going to stop searching for ways to move forward and dig deeper. We're continuing to work hard, and we're sending a message that we aren't going to stop."
 
A young defense has been a relative bright spot for the Lady Demons in conference play.
 
The unit, which features one senior, two sophomores and two freshmen, has allowed just one goal in four of NSU's six league games.
 
Three of NSU's losses have been by 1-0 scores.
 
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Kayla Bomben said the youthful group is getting better each week.

"We're learning each other, and we know that when one person steps, another has to drop," said Bomben, who has a 1.45 goals against average with 28 saves in 12 starts. "We're getting better at knowing each other's tendencies.
 
"We've got to be mentally checked in at all times, even when we aren't getting the results we want up top. We have to be a stronger in the back line in those moments."
 
NSU has outshot its SLC opponents 102-67, but Jobe said the Lady Demons are still working on finishing more chances as a 3-1 win against Incarnate Word account for NSU's only league goals.
 
"We're working on finishing chances, and creating quality chances and converting on those," Jobe said. "I thought we did a nice job at Sam Houston this past week, but their keeper was up to the task.
 
"We've put ourselves in position to be close, but we're kind of tired of talking that way and tired of that sentiment. The bottom line is we can't count on luck or that it will turn around on its own. We have to work harder and be willing to do more and continue to grind."
 
HBU is on a three-match winning streak and a six-match unbeaten streak.
 
NSU trails the all-time series 2-4-1, but the Lady Demons have split with HBU 2-2-1 in the last five meetings. NSU beat HBU in the most recent meeting in Houston, 2-1, in 2016.