CONWAY, Ark.--For the second consecutive season and third time in four years, the Northwestern State soccer team is preparing for the conference tournament.

NSU (11-7-1 overall, 8-2-1 Southland) begins its quest for a trip to the NCAA Tournament Wednesday at 11 a.m. as the No. 2 Lady Demons take on No. 7 Sam Houston State (7-10-1, 5-5-1).

The Lady Demons, which have their highest seed since 2005, have won four in a row. Sam Houston State has dropped three in a row, but all three were one-goal defeats, including to two of the top teams in the conference on the road.

The two schools met in Natchitoches on Oct. 11, and the Lady Demons prevailed 1-0 on a Norma Trejo header two minutes into the second half.

"They played us really tough in the first game," co-head coach Jess Jobe said. "They've got some good players at some key positions. They're solid at the goalkeeper position and they're difficult to put the ball past. They have some weapons that can make things difficult for us."

Fresh off her Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year honor, Nicole Henry leads a strong back line that has limited nine of the 19 opponents NSU has faced to five or fewer shots.

One of those nine was against the Bearkats, who managed just four shots in the NSU victory.

Also on the back line are second team All-Conference selection Natalee Henry and third team choice Hallie Field. Together, they allowed opponents to attempt 91 shots in conference play (8.3 per game) and the defense held opponents to below their conference shot attempts average in all 11 league games.

On offense, the Lady Demons are led by All-Conference third team forward Jalen Donaldson. For the season, she has four goals and two assists, but three goals and both assists have come in conference play. She leads the team in both shots (47) and shots on goal (26). The latter is 10^th in school history for a single season.

For the season, freshman Olivia Draguicevich also had 10 points on five goals. She scored the winning goal in the overtime win at UIW.

Kalee Williams and Olivia Mattsson have solidified the midfield for NSU. Williams is third on the team in points (6). All six of her points have come in conference play, including four in the last four games. Mattsson leads the team in assists with three and scored her first career goal against Nicholls.

The combination of Kayla Bomben and Acelya Aydogmus has been lethal for NSU at goalkeeper. The six combined shutouts between the two is the most six the Lady Demons recorded seven shutouts in 2016. Each has four career shutouts, which is tied for eighth in school history.

Bomben started seven games during league play and had a Goals Against Average of 0.97. She made a career-high seven saves against Abilene Christian in the tie on Oct. 4. She also has an 80.6 save percentage, and her conference shutout was against the Bearkats.

Aydogmus recorded three shutouts in her four conference starts, and has allowed just one goal in her nearly 369 minutes. She made six saves in the overtime win over regular season champion Lamar. Her four shutouts in a season are the seventh most in school history.

Last year the Lady Demons fell as the No. 8 seed to top-seeded Central Arkansas. The returning players will build on that experience from last year, as 14 newcomers are making their first Southland Conference Tournament appearance.

"Last year's experience will help," Jobe said. "It's been a talking point for us this year about the experience we had of making the conference tournament last year for some of our returners to lean on. They can be a little more confident this year, knowing what this atmosphere is going to be like and the pressure that comes with it."

Kalynn Bickford leads the offense for SHSU, registering a team-high 12 points, as well as three game-winning goals for the Bearkats. When Bickford shoots, it has a solid chance of going in. She has 11 shots on goal this season, and five have found the back of the net. She did not have one in the first meeting.

All five of her goals were in conference play, which was good enough for ninth in the conference.

Bickford, Sammi Mayock and Bri Woodall all made the third team All-Conference. Five players have at least seven points for SHSU, including Mayock. She is second on the team in goals (4) and points (8).

Tatum Krueger is SHSU's main goalkeeper and has a 1.49 GAA in conference. She made five saves in the first matchup.

The winner of this match plays the winner of No. 3 Abilene Christian and No. 6 McNeese Friday at 4 p.m.