Box Score NATCHITOCHES—Natalee Henry's goal in the 20^th minute was the lone tally in a 1-0 exhibition victory for the Northwestern State women's soccer team against Little Rock.

Henry, who was second on the team with 14 points in 2021, raced down the right flank, receiving a lob pass into the box from Caroline Hilliard. The graduate student put the ball in the corner of the goal past a diving Little Rock goalkeeper Paige Henry, to give NSU a lead it would not relinquish.

"We've been working on shooting and finishing in practice," Natalee Henry said. "I just took that into consideration and was able to place it in the corner for the goal."

NSU flipped the script on the Trojans after falling 1-0 in Little Rock last season.

Despite the one goal in the game, the Lady Demons controlled much of the contest, racking up 17 shots to just six for the Trojans.

The teams played three 30-minute periods, as opposed to the normal two 45-minute halves.

In the first period, NSU compiled eight of its 17 shots, dominating the first 30-minute period, including connecting on the game's lone goal. While Natalee Henry had the goal for the home team, she nearly had a pair of others as well.

"In the first 30 minutes, we were pretty solid and worked the ball well," NSU Head Soccer Coach Stuart Gore said. "In the second 30, I thought they were the better team and then in the final 30, we were the stronger team with our possession."

In the fifth minute, Natalee Henry had a chance in to put NSU in front early, but her shot was stopped by Paige Henry, who made a diving stop in the bottom right of the goal. Paige Henry recorded four saves for the Trojans in 47 minutes of action.

Chloe DeShazer, a transfer from Colorado-Colorado Springs, earned the start for NSU at goalkeeper, made one save in her 60 minutes of action.

Her backup in the exhibition, Kora Fry, was greeted with a shot attempt from Karina De Paoli in the 64^th minute. The transfer from Jackson State was equal to the task, coming up with the save.

"I thought Chloe was solid and was commanding," Gore said. "When Kora came in the game, in her first bit of action, she has to make a diving save to her right-hand side, which I think helped her confidence."

Little Rock's best threat to tie the contest came in the 83^rd minute, but newcomer Madison Murphy came up with one of the plays of the day. The freshman made a sliding tackle in the box to thwart the Trojans attack.

Amaya Arias had one more chance for Little Rock, but her shot attempt sailed wide left near the edge of the box in the 89^th minute and NSU finished off the final minute for the win.

NSU had a chance to double the lead in the final two minutes of the second period when Gracie Armstrong had a clean look at the goal from the box, but her shot sailed high.

"We need to start converting our opportunities a bit better," Gore said. "We had 17 shot attempts, but only five on target. I told the team that is something we'll need to improve upon this week."

NSU returns to action on Aug. 21 when it begins the regular season with a trip to Louisiana Tech. The road contest begins four straight matches on the road to start the regular season. The Lady Demons return to Natchitoches on Sept. 9 for a date with Jackson State to open the regular season home slate.