THIBODAUX—Two Emily Senatore goals in the second half helped the Northwestern State soccer team salvage a 2-2 draw in the regular season finale at Nicholls on Friday evening at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex.

The Lady Demons (6-10-1 overall, 4-5-1 Southland Conference) twice battled back from a goal down to tie the score, including a stretch of three goals in a span of 3:04 where NSU tied it up, fell behind and tied it back up.

"We obviously wanted the three points," first-year head coach Ian Brophy said. "But we knew a draw would probably be enough to earn us the No. 4 seed. I am proud of the way we fought in the second half, coming back from a deficit on two occasions to tie the game."

With the tie and Southeastern Louisiana's loss at Lamar, the Lady Demons secured the No. 4 seed in the SLC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Corpus Christi, Texas.

NSU faces host school Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m.

A frantic 3:04 just past midway through the second half led to a roller coaster of emotions by the two fan bases, leading to the draw.

With NSU trailing 1-0 in the 68^th minute, the Lady Demons were trying for the tying goal, dominating the shot attempts. Finally, Senatore knocked home a shot going bottom left off an assist from Riley Stern.

Moments later, Nicholls (1-17-1, 0-9-1) took the lead once again off a corner kick. Lauren Andre, who scored the first goal for the Colonels, booted the corner and Koryn Barrett scored to re-capture the lead for the home team.

The two goals are just the second time Nicholls has scored more than one goal in a game this season, also doing so in a 4-1 win against Texas Southern.

Senatore made sure that lead did not last long, as just 25 seconds later, the Lady Demons came right back. Taylor Spitzer, NSU's leading scorer during the season, broke free and sent in a perfect cross to Senatore, who tapped it in to knot the score back up.

"We fought hard to come back in the second half," Brophy said. "I thought we controlled action and after Emily scored the first goal to tie the game at 1-1, I thought we were going to win. But credit to Nicholls, they took advantage of a set piece to take the lead back.

"But I am proud with how we bounced back, our resiliency, to earn the tie."

Senatore's pair of goals brings her total to three in the past three games and she is the first Lady Demon to record more than one goal in a game this season.

"It was a great performance from Emily," Brophy said. "She was a bright spot in the first half, but she turned it up to another level in the second. She was more clinical and cashed in on her opportunities."

While the game ended on a positive note, in the first half, it was not as cheerful on the Lady Demon sidelines. NSU peppered Nicholls goalkeeper Elizabeth Zepeda to the tune of 13 of its season-high 24 shot attempts with nine of frame, but the Lady Demons could not find the back of the net.

Nicholls, however, took just one shot in the opening 45 minutes and it found the back of the net to take the 1-0 advantage into halftime.

Andre tallied the first goal for Nicholls, scoring low right past NSU goalkeeper Libe Banuelos. That lead stayed until Senatore's goal in the 68^th minute.

It is the first time this season NSU has battled back from trailing to earn a tie.

Emme' Fernandez recorded a career-high six of NSU's 24 shot attempts. Spitzer added five and Senatore attempted four, all of which were on frame.

It is the fourth straight game of double digit shot attempts for the Lady Demons and second in the last three with at least 20 shot attempts. NSU only had five such games in its first 13 contests.

"I am happy with the chances we created," Brophy said. "Overall, the offense has been impressive the last three games, which resulted in positive results in these three. I have seen the growth from everybody during training and it is clicking at the right time."

NSU heads back to Corpus Christi for the SLC Tournament, the same place where it won the conference tournament in 2021 with a 1-0 victory against UIW.