NATCHITOCHES – Every cast of characters in a production has its list of big personalities; in the case of Northwestern State soccer, that personality is junior forward Olivia Draguicevich.

As NSU (4-4-2, 4-1 SLC) approaches its Friday home match against Houston Baptist (1-7-2, 1-2-1 SLC), Draguicevich has proven time and again that she thrives in the spotlight.

In her third consecutive season, Draguicevich is the tip of the spear in the Lady Demon offense. After campaigns in 2019 and 2020 which both ended with Draguicevich as the leading scorer for NSU, she has once again climbed to the top spot, having found the back of the net seven times through five conference matches starting on Sept. 1.

After going scoreless through the first five matches to open the 2021 season, Draguicevich opened up a dominant first half of conference play as the league's leading scorer, producing seven goals in five games. Draguicevich capped her streak with an unthinkable four-goal outing at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, in which she recorded the first hat trick of her collegiate career in under 28 minutes.

"Once we got the first one in (against Corpus), I think as a team our momentum just kept building upward," Draguicevich said. "After that, we were just having fun with it. We were able to loosen up and play the way we wanted to."

Through the Lady Demons' first five Southland matches, Draguicevich has scored in all but one, and assisted on one goal against Nicholls on Sept. 12.

Head coach Stuart Gore detailed Draguicevich's ability to hunt down opportunities in the box, and how valuable a quality that is in players at all levels.

"It's a quality that is looked for in professional players," Gore said. "You see it a lot with hockey players, who have to have a knack for it.

"In all (professional) sports, teams pay the most money for players who are going to score the most points. Every player wants to be like that, and Olivia has that knack."

Sophomore midfielder Kyle Nolen understands how Draguicevich's skill set has translated to other individual successes and praised Draguicevich's qualities as a leader.

"Her leadership in practice really shows," Nolen said. "She'll talk to us one on one, and during the games she's very energetic and positive. She lifts up the team, whether we're winning or losing on any given day, and that's a big deal."

With the Lady Demons hosting HBU on Friday, Draguicevich is now on the cusp of leaving her mark on a number of program records:

With seven goals scored at the midway point through the season, two more ties tenth place, with 16 being the all-time record (Brittiany Cargill, 2000). Seven goals in a single season marks a new season high for Draguicevich.

Her 18 career goals are one short of also tying tenth place in this category, with the record holding at 35 (Brittiany Cargill, 1998-00).

Seven goals for Draguicevich against conference opponents in a single season is second all-time amongst Lady Demon scorers; one more will tie the record at eight (Hillarie Marshall, 2000).

Twelve career goals in league play also leave her just three shy of tying the program record at 15 (Hillarie Marshall, 2000-2003).

Eight career game-winning goals for Draguicevich is good for third place; nine ties second place, with the high water mark resting at 12 (Erin Hebert, 2004-2007).

Five game winning goals against Southland opponents is good for second all-time, with a sixth tying the all-time record.

Draguicevich is no stranger to the spotlight, and her accomplishments off the field are proof of such. Prior to beginning her playing career at NSU, Draguicevich had starred in a number of recent films, chief among them being a 2017 Netflix Sci-Fi thriller titled "Time Trap." In the film, Draguicevich plays a young teenager named Veeves, who embarks upon a journey through time with her sister and friends to find their missing archaeologist professor.

"(Starring in movies is) a lot different than being on a soccer field, for sure," Draguicevich said. "It was a really cool opportunity getting to branch out and do new things with new people and seeing a different side of the world. It was all a very unique experience."

"Time Trap" is still currently available for viewing on Netflix.

When asked about her possible future acting career once her time is up at NSU, Draguicevich left the door open for sports to continue being a part of her on-camera future.

"I may not necessarily go back to movies, but I am interested in sports broadcasting," Draguicevich said. "It's still being in front of a camera in a way, just in a different light."

The 2020 All-Southland Conference third team selection was also previously honorably mentioned for best supporting actress in her 2011 role in the film "Strings." A decade later, she may possibly be a nominee to add Southland Offensive Player of the Year to an already illustrious resume.

Draguicevich and the Lady Demons kick off against the Huskies at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex on Friday at 7 p.m.