NATCHITOCHES – With a victory on the line in the waning minutes, Northwestern State soccer goalkeeper Acelya Aydogmus stood face-to-face with Southeastern Louisiana's Mya Guillory – the last line of defense against a furious effort by the Lady Lions to even the score.

Aydogmus saved Guillory's point-blank attempt, preserving the 1-0 shutout against the defending Southland Conference Tournament Champion on Sept 10.

Aydogmus is at her best in these critical moments. Leading up to Sunday's match at second-place McNeese (7-3-1, 4-1-0 SLC). She's pieced five straight shutouts, the last of which helped her set the NSU (4-3-2, 4-0-0 SLC) career record at 20.

"If a person is coming at me, I want to be as big and scary as possible," Aydogmus said. "In my head, I think I'm the best keeper in the conference, and whatever I do, I trust myself and have the trust of my teammates as well."  

The record was last broken in the 2000 season. Keeper Tiffany Swingler shut out a season record nine teams on the way to a 10-2 Southland Conference record and earning the program's only regular season conference title to date. Swingler put her stamp on the career shutout record in a 58-match career.

Fast forward to the present; after NSU's most recent 4-0 shutout at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past Sunday, Swingler's impressive record now stands under the shadow of its newest claimant, Aydogmus – who, with the help of an All-Southland Conference back line, managed to surpass Swingler's high water mark in just 37 matches.

Aydogmus and the Lady Demons head to McNeese on Sunday with the chance to extend that streak.

Aydogmus, the current Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and reigning five-time Conference Goalkeeper of the Week, has amassed arguably the best career of any keeper in the history of the program in an implausibly short amount of time. After spending her freshman season at Troy, Aydogmus spent her opening 2019 campaign at NSU sharing time in the net with senior Kayla Bomben, then experienced an abbreviated 14-match season for 2020 in the final year of the Jobe era.

After playing with Bomben in 2019, Aydogmus began to mesh with then-sophomore defenders Nicole and Natalee Henry and Halle Field. Their comraderie in the early stage of their careers set the tone for the success the Lady Demons have enjoyed in the years since Aydogmus arrived from Troy. NSU completed that season with a trip to the Southland Tournament Championship, which ended in a loss against Lamar.

"When I came in as a transfer, the girls were very welcoming, and it really all started there," Aydogmus said. "Nat, Nicole, and Hallie have been strong defenders the past three years. We've had back-to-back Southland defensive player of the year (In Nicole) and all-conference selections throughout our defense.

"We keep growing every game too. We're far from done."

The NSU defense and Aydogmus were the backbone of a 2020 roster which started at a program best 6-0 and logged a record six consecutive shutouts.

First year head coach Stuart Gore has recognized the value of the connection, and how it has impacted the team dynamic.

"We've been saying it all season – (Acelya) just eats pressure," Gore said. "She always looks cool, calm and collected, and loves getting after the ball. But I think her having a longstanding relationship with 90 percent of the back line has really played a large factor too."

Having already crushed the program record for goals against average (GAA) in a single season in 2020 (.41), Aydogmus currently has the second-best career GAA in Lady Demon history at .89. The top mark in the category belongs to Krystle Donaldson (2003-06), who set the benchmark at .83.

With ten returning starters, Aydogmus and company have their sights set on the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.