NATCHITOCHES—"The only thing better than a crawfish dinner, is five crawfish dinners."

Taylor Spitzer, Isabella Ruggiano and stifling defense helped lead Northwestern State (5-4-1, 1-0) to its fifth consecutive victory, a 2-0 win over Nicholls (2-4-1, 0-1) to begin Southland Conference play.

It is the sixth consecutive SLC-opening victory for the Demons and the six consecutive shutouts matches a program record.

The five straight wins is also the most since 2022 and the 16 goals is already just one shy of the mark from the entire 2023 season.

"It's good to get our first conference win," head coach Ian Brophy said. "Obviously, getting three points is huge. We got started out on the right foot and all of our goals are ahead of us."

The Demons controlled the game straight from the opening kick, generating a shot in the second minute from Tiana Cruz.

That shot attempt was a sign of what was to come, as the Demons out-shot the Colonels 10-2 in the first half and 13-5 overall.

Of Nicholls' five shot attempts, none were on frame.

"Our defense is really good at forcing opponents into difficult chances," Brophy said. "We make it really tough on teams to get good chances and when they do take shots on goal, we have a really good goalkeeper."

While Ruggiano scored later in the game, she was in a giving mood early on.

In the 14^th minute, Ruggiano sent in a cross into the middle of the box for Spitzer, who headed it over the outstretched arms of Megan Cook to the back of the net to give the Demons the lead they never relinquished.

After scoring four goals in each of the past two seasons, the tally was Spitzer's first of 2024 after recording two assists last game against Mississippi Valley State.

"It feels really good to finally find the back of the net," Spitzer said. "It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. This season, I have been a little unlucky, so to finally get one, especially in the first game of conference play, begins good."

The Demons held that 1-0 lead into halftime.

Northwestern State had chances to increase the advantage, but Cook made saves to keep it a one-goal game.

Emily Senatore tried to score her fourth goal of the season, but she was robbed by Cook, as was Julia Pinho Magno.

Senatore recorded a game-high three shot attempts, while Pinho Magno, Ruggiano and Paige Baumgartner each posted two.

Ruggiano didn't keep the score 1-0 long after halftime, as the senior scored in the 53^rd minute to double the advantage.

In the 53rd minute, Ruggiano found a little space and scored a highlight-reel goal to push the lead to two.

From just outside the top of the right of the box, she hooked a shot that brushed the left goal post and went into the back of the net to push the lead to 2-0. The assist went to Cruz.

"It feels really good to score a goal like that," Ruggiano said. "It was a banger. A crazy goal. I was able to get the pass from Tiana and turned and had a touch with my right foot before shooting with my left. It was a great goal."

It is her third straight game with a goal, the first time that has happened for the Demons since Hallie Field found the back of the net in three consecutive contests in 2022.

From then on, the Demons played some keep away from the Colonels. All three second half shots from Northwestern State came in the first 10 minutes and played defense the rest of the way to finish off the shutout.

Banuelos didn't record a save, but thwarted opportunities for the Colonels, earning her seventh career shutout, which puts her at a tie with Krystle Donaldson (2003-06) for eighth in program history.

The Demons head on the road for the next three games, starting with a trip to UIW on Sept. 29. Northwestern State's next home contest is Oct. 11 against Houston Christian.