NATCHITOCHES-- Behind a strong defense and a Hallie Field first half goal, the Northwestern State soccer team came away with its second consecutive shutout, a 1-0 decision against Texas State Friday at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex.

For NSU (2-5), it was the first back-to-back shutouts since winning at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and against Southeastern Louisiana Oct. 14 and 19, 2018.

Field, a freshman from Frisco, Texas, scored a header off a corner kick assist from fellow freshman Maddie Scott, which proved to be the difference as the defense preserved the shutout. The Lady Demons have not allowed a goal in the last 205 minutes dating back to the second half against UL Monroe.

"It was a good win," co-head coach Jess Jobe said. "This was the closest thing to 90 minutes if it wasn't a complete 90-minute performance. "We'll still want to continue to improve in some areas, but we're really happy. That's one of the best games we've played all season."

Goalkeeper Acelya Aydogmus saw fellow keeper Kayla Bomben post a 1-0 shutout last Sunday, so Aydogmus responded with a 1-0 shutout of her own. The sophomore had one save and the Bobcats had five shots on goal.

It is Aydogmus' first shutout since Oct. 26, 2018, when she was at Troy.

Texas State (4-2-1), the reigning Sun Belt regular season champions, had the first golden opportunity of the contest, as a ball sailed to the NSU net, but was kicked away at the last second by sophomore Nicole Henry, and the match remained scoreless.

The contest remained scoreless until the 24^th minute. Off an NSU corner kick, Field was able to head the ball into the back of the net from close range to give the Lady Demons the one goal advantage.

"We've been practicing that a lot in practice," Field said. "Kalee (Williams) did a great job earning that corner kick for us. She worked really hard to get that for us, and Maddie (Scott) put a good ball in and we just had to put it away."

For Scott, it is her first point of her collegiate career.

NSU applied pressure the rest of the half, but was held off the scoreboard by a Texas State defense that had only allowed four goals in six games coming in.

TXST came alive in the second half, spending much of the final 45 minutes in NSU territory, but the NSU defense constantly turned away the Bobcats. Despite spending quite a bit of time in the attacking side in the second half, the Lady Demons defense held the Bobcats to a single shot on goal.

Texas State's Kaylee Davis, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, was shut down by the stifling Lady Demons defense. She was held without a shot for the first time in 2019. Davis came in having attempted 26 shots on the season and had not had fewer than two in any one game before Friday.

For the fourth consecutive contest, the Lady Demons won the shot battle. This time it was 7-5. Field and sophomores Jalen Donaldson and Kalee Williams all led the home team with two shots each.

"It was a good performance tonight against a good team," Jobe said. "That will give us confidence and will instill a belief. That's something we've been working through a young team.

"We've had to work through some challenges and improve in key areas and continue to work hard. They've done that and have responded really well to adversity and responded really well tonight."

NSU wraps up non-conference play at home Sunday against UL Lafayette. The contest is at 1 p.m. Conference play starts next Friday when the Lady Demons travel to Nacogdoches to take on rival Stephen F. Austin.