NATCHITOCHES – The smiles weren't hard to find on Northwestern State's sideline Friday after the Lady Demons parlayed its domination in the shot column by scratching the win column in a 3-1 win against Incarnate Word.

NSU (7-5, 1-3 SLC) had outshot two other opponents in league losses, but the Lady Demons got its first taste of victory Friday to go along with the extra opportunities the squad created.

Now NSU will take those positive vibes into Sunday's match against Abilene Christian (7-4, 2-2 SLC), which is trying to avoid a weekend sweep after falling at Central Arkansas 2-1 on Friday.

The Lady Demons won the last two times these teams met in Natchitoches, a 2-1 overtime win in 2016, but the Wildcats own victories in the four other meetings, including a 6-2 win in Abilene, Texas, in 2017.

"(Friday's win) was much needed for this team, it was a really big confidence booster," said sophomore midfielder Alexis Weaver, who was part of an NSU defense that held UIW to four shots. "We're super excited to play on Sunday.

"Everybody has their head on straight, and we're not depressed or anything from a tough Friday loss. I'm just so proud of this team."

The Lady Demons grabbed a foothold in the SLC standings after Friday's win, sitting in ninth place and vying for a spot in the eight-team tournament with seven matches to play.

NSU's three league losses to date have come against Stephen F. Austin, McNeese and Lamar, the top three finishers in 2017.

Houston Baptist and Lamar are the only unbeaten teams left in the league, and fourth-place ACU will attempt to stay in the conference title race.

NSU co-head coach Jess Jobe said the conference is extremely tight from top to bottom with much jostling expected in the final three-quarters of the season.

"It meant a lot to us to build confidence with Friday's win," Jobe said. "It's nice to get a couple of players on the score sheet.

"We had a couple of nice assists, and we had a lot of good moments to look back on film. We're feeling really good about this one, and we can move on knowing we did what was required of us."

Jobe also mentioned getting some rest for "high-minute players" like April Trowbridge and Brittany Caserma considering NSU built a 3-0 lead.

Trowbridge scored one goal Friday to boost her season total to 11, which leads the league and is tied for fifth all-time in NSU single-season history.

Her fifth assist of the season on one of two Caserma goals also leads the league.

NSU's 33 goals leads the league by almost 10, but ACU features one of the SLC's top defenses with eight goals allowed in 11 games.

NSU played 11 players off its bench Friday, including freshman Hallie McCarroll, who has carved out a large reserve role after overcoming an early-season knee injury.

"It just takes time – I've never had an injury like that before," said McCarroll, who has one goal and one assist this season. "It set me back a little, but I've been training harder and getting more playing time.

"I think if we just keep putting up the fight like we are, we'll eventually get to where we want to be as long as we continue to outwork the other team."