NATCHITOCHES—The Northwestern State soccer team heads into the regular season finale with tournament seeding on the line, when it welcomes Central Arkansas Friday at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex.

The contest begins at 6:30 p.m.

NSU (10-7-1 overall, 7-2-1 Southland) can clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with a win. It has won the last three contests, outscoring the three opponents 8-1. The last time the Lady Demons had at least 25 points in conference play was 2000 when they went 10-2 en route to a conference championship.

Four of the wins have come via shutout and the team has not allowed more than one goal in nine of the 10 conference games, and 14 of the last 16 overall.

UCA (5-11-1, 4-6) has won four in a row since dropping its first six conference matches. The Bears have outscored their opponents 11-1 in those four.

"Our coaching staff has been looking at this UCA team for a little while knowing they've got a little more left in them," co-head coach Jess Jobe said. They're fighting for their lives right now and are showing the quality they have. They're finding wins now and are feeling pretty good.

"It's a must-win for them and so they're going to come out firing. We've got to match their intensity and focus."

The streak for UCA has pulled them into a tie for the final tournament spot with Stephen F. Austin. UCA needs to win and have SFA lose/tie at Sam Houston State to make the conference tournament or tie and have SFA lose.

NSU will have to be prepared for UCA's best shot.

"We will have to take control from the very start of the game," freshman Olivia Mattsson said. "We have to make sure to stay composed and play our game."

The top seven scorers for the Lady Demons are either freshman or sophomores. A freshman, Olivia Draguicevich, leads the team in goals with five. She is tied with sophomore Jalen Donaldson with 10 points.

Defensively, the Lady Demons have limited three of the last four opponents to four or fewer shots, and secured shutouts in those three.

"We have a lot of confidence," sophomore defender Nicole Henry said. "Although we're young, we have different playing styles and our chemistry has been so good and we've been connecting well."

Each goalkeeper has started at least four conference games so far. Senior Kayla Bomben has a 0.98 goals against average overall, and 0.96 in conference play. She is currently fourth in school history in career GAA.

Sophomore Acelya Aydogmus is coming off back-to-back shutouts, her third and fourth ones of the season. Her four shutouts in a single season is the seventh most in school history. She has a 1.60 GAA overall, but a microscopic 0.25 GAA in conference, allowing just one goal in four contests.

The pairing has combined to shut out four teams in conference play, and NSU is one of only three teams to have a GAA in conference of under 1.

Offensively, UCA is led by freshman Emma Hawkins. She leads the Bears in goals (5), assists (5) and points (15). She has also taken 46 shots, which is nearly double the second closes player, Hadley Dickinson.

Dickinson and Connie Awuku-Darkoh each have four goals and have multiple assists. Three of Dickinson's goals have been in conference, including two in the 6-0 domination of Nicholls the last time out.

At goalkeeper, the Bears have played two, but freshman Clara Bornet has played the most recently. Reagan McCombs started the win against Nicholls, but Bornet started the four before that, going 3-0, allowing just one goal combined. Overall, her GAA is 1.45, but six of her eight goals allowed came in two games.

Following the finale against Central Arkansas, it is conference tournament time. The tournament is in Conway, Ark., starting next Wednesday.