MONROE — The Northwestern State women's soccer team made a formation alteration last season against ULM. The new alignment didn't fruit a win for the Lady Demons on that day, but it did flip the season 180 degrees, resulting in a strong finish.
Fast forward to Saturday's matchup with ULM inside Brown Stadium, and that new formation that was debuted against the Warhawks in 2019 dominated those same Warhawks in 2021.
NSU downed ULM 3-0, improving to 2-0 on the young season.
"That game (in 2019) was the start of seeing some pieces that we really, really liked, so we stuck with it," said co-head coach Jess Jobe. "We went into the next game and won the game and never really looked back from there.
"I think it's fair to say it's a turning point for this group."
Junior Kalee Williams is one member of that group who has enjoyed a particularly strong start to the 2021 season. Just four days removed from a three-shot, one goal effort at Louisiana Tech, Williams boasted another three shots and two goals at ULM.
"She's in great form right now," Jobe said. "A lot of that being how hard she works. She's a player that looks to apply the things that we are talking about each week in training. She deserves a lot of credit for that."
Williams' first goal, unassisted, occurred in the 51st minute and pushed NSU's lead out to 2-0. Just over 14 minutes later, she extended Northwestern State's advantage — on an assist from freshman Cianne Talamo — out to 3-0.
Williams put the finishing touches on a dominating second half, and that was somewhat of a far cry from what transpired in the first 45 minutes. The Warhawks dictated a good portion of the opening half, as NSU only managed four shots.
One of those shots, however, found the back of the net. Freshman Kyle Nolen opportunistically corralled a loose ball just outside the box and deposited it past ULM goaltender Hailey Hillock for her first-career goal.
"Fantastic moment for Kyle Nolen," Jobe said. "She took advantage of a ball that was unclaimed at the top of the box. She had a touch, and hit a really great strike that sort of broke ULM a little bit."
A few halftime adjustments and the second half featured an overwhelming performance by Northwestern State. Six more shots were registered, and the two that were on frame gave NSU its lopsided victory.
The other end of that lopsided equation is the result of another stout defensive performance. Led by senior Alexis Weaver and strong play in net by junior Acelya Aydogmus, Northwestern State allowed only one shot in the first 85 minutes and four — one on target — for the entire game.
"The defense is really buying into the way we want them to play," Jobe said. "We ask a lot of them, and they did a tremendous job of keeping the play in front of them. Alexis Weaver had another game where she took command. I can't say enough about the leadership she's expressing and the leadership role she has on this team."
Northwestern State will look continue its strong play against Southland Conference competition. NSU travels to Sam Houston on Friday for a 6 p.m. contest.
