BEAUMONT, Texas — The Northwestern State soccer team has a whole bundle of experience when it comes to playing Southland Conference tournament soccer. NSU knows what has made it successful but it also knows what contributed to it coming up short in last season's title game. 

"We had to take a good hard look at some of the things that played into being key factors why we didn't complete the job and didn't achieve what we really wanted to," said co-head coach Jess Jobe. "We are going to continue to be consistent in the things that have made us successful, and we know what those things are now." 

The Lady Demons (9-3-1 overall, 7-3-1 SLC) enter as the No. 4 seed. They battle fifth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana (6-2-3 overall, 6-2-3 SLC) at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals of a tournament being held at Lamar. The victor plays the winner between top-seeded Stephen F. Austin and eighth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. 

NSU defeated Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 28 in Natchitoches. Northwestern State played a good portion of the second half and overtime a man down after junior Natalee Henry received two yellow cards.

Sophomore Hallie Field headed in a corner from Kyle Nolen, giving NSU the walk-off 1-0 victory. 

That match with the Lady Lions was awhile ago. Most recently, NSU defeated Central Arkansas 2-0 in the regular-season finale Friday in game that was big in reinstalling some confidence throughout the roster. 

"I think we have a good rhythm now in what we are doing," Jobe said. "We are using some players in some different areas — having them buy into different roles and objectives, and some players moving around and playing different positions to fill some of those gaps because of injury."

That Central Arkansas match featured two goals by sophomore Olivia Draguicevich, which vaulted her into the team lead in goals with five. Junior Kalee Williams has four scores, while six other players have one goal apiece. 

The offense got back on track in Conway, and the defense was its normal stout self. Junior goaltender Acelya Aydogmus recorded her eighth shutout of the season, which broke the single-season school record. 

She's been steady, recording every minute of every game in goal. She boasts 38 saves, a save percentage of .864 and a GAA of .45, which is shattering the previous single-season program record. 

Southeastern Louisiana hasn't suffered a defeat since their trip to Northwestern State. The Lady Lions have won three in a row, outscoring foes 9-1 during that stretch. 

Mya Guillory and Makenzie Maher pace Southeastern Louisiana offensively with six and five goals, respectively. Nadine Maher has started every game in goal, logging 34 saves, a save percentage of .791 and a GAA of .75. 

The Lady Lions own a 22-14-2 edge in the all-time series. NSU has enjoyed recent success, claiming the last three matches, all by 1-0 decisions.

It has been awhile since Northwestern State suffered its 3-1 loss in the Southland Conference tournament title match in 2019. In fact, 510 days have been exhausted in between the two dates, and that has Jobe and company quite thrilled for Tuesday. 

"Not playing a tournament in a long, long time certainly helps with getting excited for it, but we've been looking forward to this for a long time," Jobe said. "We've been preparing for it for a long time. We've been very intentional in how we've used the time in between, and so it's finally here, and we are excited and ready to go."