LAKE CHARLES—The trip is a homecoming for Micah Goss, as the Northwestern State women's soccer team travels to in-state rival McNeese for a Southland Conference game at 1 p.m. at Cowgirl Field.

Goss, a senior from Sulphur, La., has appeared in 12 games in her NSU career after transferring in from Centenary. She returns to play close to home for the final time in her career.

"Going back there is great," Goss said. "Because a lot of my family members who can't necessarily make it to Natchitoches for whatever reasons they have, they're able to show up at McNeese. It's exciting for me, but it is also exciting for them because I have been playing soccer since I was little.

"They all know this is my last season, so they all want to come out and support not only me, but they love the girls. We're a big family here."

As a team, NSU (5-3-2 overall, 2-2-1) aims to rebound following a 1-0 loss to Houston Christian, one in which it out-shot the Huskies 8-3.

The Lady Demons had a few golden opportunities, but could not cash in.

McNeese (4-5-1, 2-2-1) enters the contest following a 3-1 comeback home victory against Nicholls. After allowing a goal in the fourth minute, the Cowgirls responded with three unanswered goals. Magalie Dépôt had a hand in all three, recording two goals and an assist.

Dépôt leads the team in goals (4) and points (10).

NSU will be looking for payback, as it only dropped two matches in league play in 2021, both of which came at the hands of McNeese.
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"There's a bit of a needle between both of us after last year," NSU head women's soccer coach Stuart Gore said. "Their returning players will be totally up for us and our returners will be up for them."

McNeese holds the edge in the series 16-15-5, including eight of the past 10 matches in the regular season.

The NSU defense has only surrendered more than one goal once this season. Goalkeeper Chloe DeShazer has surrendered eight goals in 10 games so far for a 0.80 goals against average, stopping 26 shots and has registered a .765 save percentage.

One of the standouts along the defense for NSU is Nicole Henry and she has been since she stepped foot on campus. The three-time SLC Defender of the Year has appeared in 86 career games, tied for the school record with Natalie Waguespack. With one minute against McNeese, she will surpass the record.

"I didn't know about the record until right now," Henry said. "It's pretty exciting to get a new record. I've been here for a minute."

The offense has scored at least four goals on four occasions and has generated plenty of scoring chances, but it aims to break out of a bit of a scoring slump. Draguicevich is the leading scorer for NSU, leading the team in both goals (7) and points (14).

McNeese has surrendered at least one goal in eight of its 10 games and multiple goals in five of them.

The Cowgirls have two players who have recorded more than four points. In addition to Dépôt, Salma Elhaimer has scored three goals and dished out three assists for nine points.

Three goalkeepers have been used by McNeese, but Jackie Kelly has been the main one, starting seven games and four of the five league games. She has allowed 13 goals and saved 27 shot attempts for a 2.00 goals against average. She has recorded both of the Cowgirls shutouts.

Following the game, NSU concludes its short two-game stretch on the road when it travels to league-leading Lamar on Friday before returning home for a pair of contests, beginning on Oct. 9 against Nicholls.