NATCHITOCHES—Few contests will be as hyped as this one, as the Northwestern State women's soccer team welcomes undefeated Lamar back to the Southland Conference on Friday for a contest at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex.

Kickoff is a 7 p.m.

NSU (4-1-1 overall, 1-0 SLC) comes in following back-to-back shutouts, in different ways. NSU scored four in the second half to win 6-0 against Jackson State before scoring early in the game and holding on for a 1-0 victory in the conference opener against UIW.

"They have a new coach with Nathan (Kogut)," NSU women's soccer coach Stuart Gore said. "They're rolling and they feel really confident."

Olivia Draguicevich, who earned the SLC Offensive Player of the Week, scored four goals in the two contests, including a hat trick against JSU.

The senior has 30 career goals, which is second in program history, five behind Britiany Cargill for the most in school history. She also in third place for the most points in school history with 65.

NSU's offense has been the best in the conference, leading the league in goals (17), shots (48) and shots (105).

Draguicevich has scored six goals this season, which leads the league. Three players have scored at least three goals, as she is joined by Natalee Henry (3) and Paige Armstrong (2).

"I think we are all key parts when we are on the field," Armstrong said. "Olivia and Nat (Henry) both score, but it also helps when you have other people going forward to score, so other teams just don't focus on them. It opens opportunities for them."

Chloe DeShazer is the final line of defense for a strong NSU defense. She is coming off two consecutive shutouts. The defense is front of her has been stellar, as the Lady Demons surrendered just a combined 10 shots in the two shutout victories.

"Our defense is a mixture, as we have a new player with Hallee (Griffin)," Gore said. "But the rest of them were here last year and we had a lot of success with them. They're proud of that success and take pride in keeping other teams off the board."

With limiting opponent shot attempts in the two shutouts, Jayme Haynes earned the SLC Defensive Player of the Week.

"It feels good to know our hard work and things our back line has practiced are working," Haynes said. "But it's not just the back line, it's the team as a whole."

While NSU has been the top offense in the SLC, the calling card so far for the Cardinals has been the defense, only surrendering two goals on the season, led by preseason second team all-conference goalkeeper Nicole Panis. She has made 24 saves, posting a .411 goals against average, while recording a .923 save percentage.

Lamar (4-0-1, 1-0), which left the SLC for a year in the Western Athletic Conference, returns to the conference and has out-scored opponents 13-2 this season. The Cardinals are fresh off a 1-0 win in their conference opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The lone goal came in the 33^rd minute on a penalty kick from Eva Karen, who is one of three Cardinals with at least three goals. Christine Kitaru leads the team with five goals and 10 points. Cariel Ellis also has tallied three goals for Lamar.

Following the game, NSU travels to Southeastern Louisiana for its first conference road contest. It begins a mini stretch of two consecutive games on the road, finishing with a trip to Commerce to battle SLC newcomer Texas A&M-Commerce. They return to Natchitoches on Sept. 30 for a matchup with Houston Baptist.