FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – As the Northwestern State soccer team prepares to represent the Southland Conference as one of the 31 automatic bids in the 40^th NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament, the Lady Demons exhibit little in the way of nerves.

On Friday when NSU (12-5-2, 10-2 SLC) takes on two-seed Arkansas (16-4, 9-1 SEC) at Razorback Field, the pressure to win will ride solely on the shoulders of the Razorbacks – a team who finished their regular season as the No. 4 ranked team in the country, won the SEC regular title, and eventually fell in the conference title match against Tennessee.  

"The (team's) confidence level is good, because now the pressure is off," said Southland Head Coach of the Year Stuart Gore. "In front of a crowd of their own fans after falling in the SEC title match, the pressure is going to be entirely on them to win this.

"We got a great group of seniors to lead us in this thing, and we feel good," Gore said.  

The trip so far for a jubilant and excited NSU squad has included karaoke on the bus and a game of handball before Thursday's practice.

"NCAA first round – one of 64 teams -- this is where the team wants to be, and this is an excellent time for them to enjoy this ride," Gore said. "It's a great day to be a Demon."

It was apparent in the way many of the team members moved, talked, and carried themselves that as a unit, the energy was at a fever pitch.

"We're feeling good, we're excited," senior forward Jalen Donaldson said. "We're going to be playing in front of a lot of fans tomorrow, and that's an exciting feeling."

Despite the calm, upbeat demeanor a veteran laden NSU has outwardly presented leading into the tournament, the players still carry the weight of tomorrow's match on their shoulders.

"We're a little nervous, because it's just been so long since this team has gotten (this far)," said senior forward Natalee Henry. "But we're excited and ready."

A strength-versus-strength matchup by all odds, the Lady Demons bring a defense to Razorback Field that has only allowed three goals since the start of league play and has the third-best shutout percentage in the nation (.632).

The NSU back line is shored up by back-to-back Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Year Acelya Aydogmus. Playing every minute in the net for the Lady Demons, the all-time (27) and single season (10) program leader in shutouts compiled the seventh-best save percentage in the nation (.869) and a goals-against average good for 24th (.657).

For an NSU squad which relies heavily on being incredibly difficult to score against, its ultimate test looms ahead in the form of an Arkansas offense that has scored a blistering 2.9 goals per game and is fifth nationally in total goals scored (58). The Razorbacks out shot and outscored SEC opponents by a factor of two throughout their season, and only had two matches in SEC play fall by a single goal.

"Arkansas has had their run of the SEC for a time now – (head coach Colby Hale) has done incredibly well here, and they're going to be an extremely difficult opponent to overcome," Gore said. "They're a top ten team in the country for a reason and going to be a great challenge for us."

The Lady Demons, however, bring with them an offensive juggernaut of their own in Southland Player of the Year Olivia Draguicevich. NSU's coveted attacker leads the nation in game winning goals (7) and is 12^th nationally in total goals scored (13).

The Friday match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be available through subscription with ESPN+, along with SEC Network authenticated subscribers. The winner will advance to the second round to face the winner of Ohio State and Virginia Tech.