CONWAY, Arkansas – The Northwestern State soccer team controls its own postseason destiny Friday when the Lady Demons head to Central Arkansas for its regular season finale at 7 p.m.
NSU (10-8, 4-6 Southland Conference) is in sixth place in the league standings, and a win or a tie against the conference champion Bears (14-3-1, 9-1 SLC) will lock up one of eight SLC Tournament spots for the Lady Demons.

First-year co-head coach Jess Jobe doesn't want his team to take anything lightly as NSU pursues what would be the program's second SLC Tournament berth in three seasons after an eight-year postseason drought.

"We're excited for the challenge, we're in good spirits, and we're feeling good about what we've accomplished over the past two weeks," Jobe said. "We want to carry that momentum into Friday in what will be a tough test against a league champion who is undefeated at home this season.

"We do control our own destiny, and that's a positive. If we get a result, we take things into our own hands."

NSU can finish anywhere from the No. 6 seed to out of the tournament, but the Lady Demons are one of the hottest squads in the league after winning its last three matches.

After a road 3-0 road win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, NSU returned home this past weekend to beat Southeastern and Nicholls by one goal each.

Freshman Kylee Dominy bent a corner kick into the net in double overtime for the walk-off win against Nicholls.

NSU (12 standings points) owns tiebreakers over Southeastern (12 points) and Incarnate Word (10 points). The Lady Demons must stay ahead of Stephen F. Austin (9 points), who beat NSU back in the conference opener.

For NSU to not make the conference tournament, the Lady Demons have to lose, Southeastern must tie or win and SFA and UIW must win their respective matches.

Freshman Aliyah Hale, who's offensive role has expanded as she's consistently put dangerous shots on frame, said she likes the winning feeling after the Lady Demons had been on the losing side of one-goal games early in the SLC season (1-6 start).

"It definitely feels amazing to start winning and to get into a position to (make the SLC Tournament)," Hale said. "We definitely feel like it's getting easier for us as a team the more we play together.
"We're having more fun in practice, and our morale is higher than it was at the beginning of the season."

NSU is no stranger to facing a team atop the SLC standings. The Lady Demons battled then-No. 1 Lamar in a 1-0 road loss before pushing then-leader Houston Baptist to the edge in a 1-0 overtime loss, also on the road.

NSU outshot its opponent in both matches, and Jobe said his team is used to matching the play of the SLC's best.

"We've been learning throughout the season, and we have to get some things out of the way to arrive at what we feel is playing our best soccer of the year," Jobe said. "A lot of growth had to take place, and we've been really close in a game that has very small margins.

"Luck has to be with you sometimes, and it hasn't always been on our side. You make your own luck, too, and we're learning more and more what that means and how difficult it is to be successful at this level."

Friday's match features four of the top eight individual scorers in the SLC.

NSU has leader April Trowbridge (13 goals) and No. 5 scorer Brittany Caserma (seven goals). UCA counters with Connie Awuku-Darkoh (11 goals) and Camille Bassett (10 goals).
Caserma is sixth all-time at NSU with 24 career goals, while Trowbridge is right behind her with 23 goals. Trowbridge's 15 career assists is tied for fourth all-time.

But both teams showcase two of the stronger defenses in the league as well.

UCA ranks second with .78 goals allowed per game, while NSU checks in at No. 5 (1.22 goals allowed per game).

The Lady Demons have posted that number despite all five current defensive starters (four defenders and the goalkeeper) being first-year starters at their position.

Sophomore Ashley Medawattage said this young group has improved in its first season.

"People talk about our young back line, but we think we are just as good as anybody else," Medawattage said. "One of my roles has been communication on and off the field, and we're getting more comfortable with each other and playing really well together.

"All of us in the back are really good with the ball at our feet and can be calm and collected. That's pretty special."

Medawattage said belief has spread throughout the whole team, and she hopes that carries into Friday and into the postseason.

"The change in belief with everybody on the team," Medawattage said when asked about the team's winning streak. "We know that we can do it, and we should have felt that way from the start.

"But we know we can keep up with the best teams, we can beat the best teams, and we feel like we are one of the better teams."