CONWAY, Arkansas — The Northwestern State soccer team closes out its regular season Friday at Central Arkansas at 5 p.m. 

It's an important match with regard to seeding for the Southland Conference tournament. It's a celebratory day when looking back on what has been a memorable last couple months.

But more than anything, it's an important game for the Lady Demons to regain some of their swagger. 

"We want to get some wind back in our sails and get a little momentum," said co-head coach Jess Jobe. "Obviously, we want to be authentic in who we are and the circumstances. Reality is, we haven't put a ball in the back of the net in four games."

NSU has encountered some rough waters of late, as two straight losses have it sitting at 8-3-1 overall and 6-3-1 in conference play. The Bears own a 12-8-2 overall record and a 3-6-1 mark in league action. 

Even amid the recent disappointment, Jobe is confident his team can right the ship. 

"I think there's moments in both games that are somewhat haunting to some individuals, and to us a group — knowing we were close, but we didn't get it done," Jobe said. "We've got some things that we want to work through, and the players got after it (Monday). We had a good session, and started the week on the right foot."

Central Arkansas has been struggling for a couple weeks. The Bears haven't won a game since a 4-2 victory against Sam Houston on March 12 — going 0-3-1 in their most recent four matches.

Emma Hawkins leads Central Arkansas, netting 14 goals and two assists this season. Sydney Brough has six goals, and 10 other players have tallied at least one goal for the Bears.

Northwestern State boasts a balanced scoring attack where junior Kalee Williams leads the way with four scores. Sophomore Olivia Draguicevich has logged three goals, while six different players have scored one goal this season.

NSU junior goaltender Acelya Aydogmus has played every minute in net and has yielded six scores this season, and her six shutouts is one shy of the single-season program record. She's made 35 saves and her GAA of 0.49 is currently shattering the school's best mark.

Central Arkansas goalkeeper Reagan McCombs has logged 21 starts. She's recorded 71, allowed 31 scores which results in a 1.43 GAA. 

Plenty of shuffling can happen in relation to the final conference standings. NSU is positioned in a tie for third with Abilene Christian at 19 points. The two clubs are two points back of Lamar and Stephen F. Austin and one point clear of Southeastern Louisiana and Incarnate Word. 

"We've got a lot of really good teams in this conference, some very capable coaches and players that have opposed us," Jobe said. "It's no coincidence that they have the same goals as far as what they want to accomplish and achieve. We've got to be more detailed. We've got to do some of the little things better and keep our heads up and keep moving forward." 

The Southland Conference tournament begins with the quarterfinals on April 13 in Beaumont, Texas.