NATCHITOCHES – After holding Southern scoreless in a Friday win, Northwestern State soccer will attempt to pitch its second straight shutout Sunday when Jackson State visits for a 1 p.m. game.

The Lady Demons (4-2) didn't allow Southern to take a shot Friday in a 5-0 win, NSU's third straight victory.

The 38-0 shot advantage is NSU's largest margin since the Lady Demons outshot NAIA member LSU-Shreveport 54-0 in the 2017 opener, a 12-0 win.

NSU hasn't won three games in a row since a 2016 stretch in conference play when the Lady Demons rattled off five consecutive wins.

While five different Lady Demons scored goals Friday against Southern, perhaps the most important development was the defensive improvement.

"Being composed out of the back was really important for us," said sophomore defender Ashley Medawattage.  "We were really direct – everyone on the back line is pretty good on the ball to the point where we don't always have to clear it.

"We got stuck in when we needed to get stuck in. We made our tackles, we were tight, it was a solid performance by the whole team."

The shutout is NSU's first since a blanking Central Arkansas in the final game of the 2017 season.

But the defense – and the coaching staff – have changed as only senior defender Ysmina Smith played regularly from that unit on the defensive side of the field (Medawattage was a midfielder).

NSU has shuffled in freshmen Kalee Williams and Nicole Henry on the line, moving Medawattage to the back.

Senior Olivia Marazzo took a position as a center back until an ankle injury sidelined early in the season.

But NSU co-head coach Jess Jobe said he's seeing weekly improvement from his defense.

"We had a good team performance, and any time we can keep a team off the scoresheet, we're happy about that," Jobe said. "Both goalkeepers (Kayla Bomben and Sydney Normand) played well.

"We didn't make a lot of defensive rotations, we stuck with the core group. They did a good job of battling."

JSU (0-5) is looking for its first win of the season after losing to California Baptist on Thursday 4-0.

The Tigers have scored two goals this season, including pushing fellow Southland Conference member Nicholls to overtime in a 2-1 loss.

NSU has scored 17 goals this season, including 14 in its last three games.