NATCHITOCHES — The Northwestern State soccer team returns to the pitch this week with a pair of matchups, one on Thursday and another on Saturday. NSU has been away from competition for 10 days, enjoying an idle week that occurred at an ideal time. 

"It allowed us opportunities to get some players some much-needed time off and healing and rehab," said co-head coach Jess Jobe. "It gave us some time with our athletic trainer, which was really important to a few individuals. … It also gave us time to step back and celebrate, but also really frame how we want to approach these last few games." 

Abilene Christian is the first of those last few. The Lady Demons play host to the Wildcats Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex. 

NSU hopes that while the time away was helpful in getting healthy and refocusing, it was also advantageous from the standpoint of sharpening a squad that's a stout 8-1-1 on the season. 

"We wanted to tighten up on a few things — be detailed oriented in a few areas," Jobe said. "We took a little additional time to do that. We want to feel good physically. We want to feel good about our game plan and some areas tactically that we want to tie some loose ends together."

Northwestern State stellar overall record includes a 6-1-1 mark in Southland Conference play. That positions it in second place with 19 points, just two points behind Lamar, which owns a 7-1-0 record in league action. 

Abilene Christian lays claim to fifth place in the conference with a 4-3-1 record (8-5-2 overall). The Wildcats are 3-0-1 in their last four conference matches, having not lost in league play since an overtime defeat at the hands of Houston Baptist on March 12. 

Christina Arteaga leads the way offensively for Abilene Christian with six goals. Natalie Wodka and Caylen Wright have netted four and three goals, respectively. 

Erin Smith has started every game in goal for the Wildcats. She has allowed 16 goals (1.01 goals against average) and has a save percentage of .797. 

NSU is led by its goaltender, junior Acelya Aydogmus. She has six shutouts on the season, which is just one shy of the single-season program record. That's a testament to her having played in fewer games than a typical fall schedule. 

Aydogmus has played every minute in net and surrendered just four scores. She has made 30 saves and her GAA of 0.39 is currently shattering the school's best mark. 

Junior Kalee Williams leads the team with four goals, however, she missed the last two games because of injury. Sophomore Olivia Draguicevich has logged three goals, while six different players have scored one goal this season. 

NSU is 1-5-1 all-time against the Wildcats with its only win occurring in 2016 in overtime. The two tied for the first time last season in Abilene and that ended a modest two-match win streak the Wildcats held in the series. 

Following the match against Abilene Christian, Northwestern State remains at home, hosting Incarnate Word in its final home match of the season. That game, which is Senior Day, is set to begin Saturday at 12 p.m.