JACKSON, Mississippi—The Northwestern State soccer team aims to build off its first victory of the season as it heads back on the road to face Jackson State on Friday.

The contest begins at 3 p.m. at the JSU Soccer Field.

NSU (1-4) is coming off its first victory of the season and first triumph in the Ian Brophy era with a 1-0 win over Alabama A&M. A Taylor Spitzer penalty kick goal in the 66^th minute was the lone tally, her first goal of the season, which ties her with Caitlin Le Roux for the team lead.

The foul for the penalty kick was drawn by Emily Gundin, who has played 133 the past two contests after missing the first three.

"Coming in off the bench against Southern Miss, I thought Emily Gundin looked strong," Brophy said. "Then she played well when she started against Alabama A&M. She won us the penalty kick, which shows the impact that she had, arguably getting us that goal."

NSU has dominated the overall series, winning all 11 meetings, including six in Jackson. In the 11 games, the Lady Demons have outscored the Tigers 41-0. The teams met last season with NSU winning 6-0 in Natchitoches, led by Olivia Draguicevich's hat trick.

In the last meeting in Jackson, NSU won 1-0 in 2019.

Despite scoring two goals in the last three games, the offense is coming alive, having generated 38 shot attempts in the last three games, including a season-high 18 last time out against Alabama A&M.

"At the beginning of the season, we were trying to play out of the back more and use precise passing going forward up the field," Gundin said. "As we looked back at the game film, we saw opportunities. In practice, we've been trying to find one forward and then the other and it has been paying off. We have had a lot more opportunities."

The Lady Demons are generating plenty of scoring chances, but the team knows it needs to cash in on some more of the opportunities.

NSU's offense has another opportunity to pepper an opposing goalkeeper with shots, as JSU (1-3) has allowed every opponent thus far to attempt double digit shots against them, including a season-high 20 last game against UL Monroe.

Off the bench against Alabama A&M, Emily Senatore posted a game-high six shot attempts.

Brophy believes she is just scraping the surface of what she can provide.

"Every time Emily Senatore has come in, she has been better and better and better," he said. "It's been fun to see her growth and to see the impact she has every time she comes into a game and we want to see more of that. She is an integral part of our team and how we can attack moving forward."

Libe Banuelos, NSU's goalkeeper, is coming off the first shutout of her Lady Demon career, stopping two shots against Alabama A&M, both of which came in the second half. That follows a season-high six saves at Southern Miss last Thursday, surrendering only one goal in the first 79 minutes.

"It was a little bit draining allowing three goals in games," Banuelos said. "So it was good being able to post the shutout last game. It is definitely giving me confidence moving forward."

The junior goalkeeper is tied for second in the conference in saves with 20, only trailing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Kennedy Stelling's 26.

JSU is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 home loss to UL Monroe, as Monroe scored twice in the second half, including the winner in the 82^nd minute, to walk away with the win.

"They clearly are a good team," Brophy said. "In their exhibitions, they pushed Southern Miss and beat Louisiana Tech. Even in their recent games, they don't concede many goals. They are in their games and fighting in them. We know we are in for a tough afternoon as they will test us both offensively and defensively. It will be a tough game, no question about that."

The Tigers' lone win came on the road against Southland Conference opponent Nicholls, a 4-1 victory in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

JSU's six goals have come from six different players. Kendyl Terrell leads the team with three points, recording a goal and an assist.

Following a trip to Jackson, NSU rounds out the weekend, as well as the non-conference slate, with a trip to LSU on Sunday.