COMMERCE, Texas—Two perennial Southland Conference powers. First place in the league is on the line. What more could anybody want?

After coming away with a 2-0 victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northwestern State (8-3-3, 3-1-1) gained a share of first place in the SLC—tied with East Texas A&M, its opponent Sunday.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at the Lion Soccer Field.

"We'll need to continue to stick to the things we do and play our way and do the little things right," head coach Ian Brophy said. "If we do that, we should be able to put together a good game and hopefully come out victorious.

"It's not going to be easy. They are going to be really physical, really tough. They are tied with us in first for a reason, so we're excited to see how this game goes, and it is a big contest. These are always fun ones."

NSU controlled much of the game in the win over the Islanders, scoring on an own goal in the first half before Riley Stern capped off the scoring finding the back of the net midway through the second half to put the game away.

While much has been said about the passing prowess of Stern, she also can out the ball in the back of the net as well. She scored her third goal of the season in the victory over AMCC and is now tied for third in the SLC in points (4) in league games.

Despite not recording any points against AMCC, reigning SLC Co-Offensive Player of the Week Emily Senatore is still tied for third for points in the conference in league games with four.

In overall games, Senatore is tied for first in goals (10) in the conference and second in points (21).

While the offense has scored multiple goals in each of the past two contests, the defense has even been better, limiting the opposition to just one shot on goal in each game, both wins.

The group of defenders of Emma Pethel, Jessica Spitzer, Sophia Minnillo and Emily Mougia, in addition to Madison Murphy in the midfield have made life difficult for the opposition, thwarting opportunities and helping to set up the offense from the back.

As good as the Demons have been under Ian Brophy, NSU has yet to clear the hurdle that is ETAMU (5-5-4, 2-0-4).

Brophy, who moved past Stuart Gore for sole possession for fourth on the NSU coaching wins list with the victory over the Islanders, has gone 0-2 in his two matchups with the Lions.

The Demons have lost a pair of 2-1 games in the series the previous two seasons, and have lost three in a row overall, beginning with the heartbreaker in the 2022 conference tournament.

ETAMU has been a handful for every team, though, and this season is no different. In its last game, it went on the road and came away with a 1-0 victory at reigning conference regular season and tournament champion Stephen F. Austin.

Mya Mitchell has continued to be one of the best players in the league, scoring six goals and recording 15 points, to lead the Lions.

Following the match, the Demons wrap up the home portion of the schedule with the final two games at the Demon Soccer Complex against McNeese (Thursday) and UIW (Oct. 19).