COMMERCE, Texas—In a matchup of the top two teams in the Southland Conference, Northwestern State was aiming to make a statement.

Consider it made.

After a scoreless first half NSU (9-3-3, 4-1-1) had a scoring onslaught in the second half, receiving three goals from three different players, as the Demons rolled to a 3-1 road victory at East Texas A&M (5-6-4, 2-1-4) on Sunday afternoon at the Lion Soccer Field.

"I am really proud of the performance today," head coach Ian Brophy said. "We knew early on it was going to be tough and it was going to be a gritty game, and we had to defend well and we did that.
"In the second half, we really gave ourselves a platform to play well and win the game. Our performance in the second half was really good, with the ball and without the ball. We were really good in all facets."

With the victory, the Demons move to sole possession of first place in the Southland Conference standings, a point ahead of Stephen F. Austin.

NSU received goals from Paige Baumgartner, Emily Senatore and the first collegiate goal from Marissa Henderson to open up a 3-0 lead before a late Hannah Bell goal broke the shutout for the Lions.
Each team had nine shots in a scoreless first half before the fun began in the second.

While there was no scoring, both teams had chances to score in the first before Baumgartner broke the ice early in the second.

After missing last game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Baumgartner was a spark plug off the bench Sunday.

She found the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season, tied for second on the team.

In the 53^rd minute, Hosane Soukou crossed the ball into the box to Dawson Marrs, but Marrs' shot was saved. The rebound caromed straight to Baumgartner, and she did the rest.

"She was a spark plug for us," Brophy said. "Having her miss the last game, I think we missed her and are really happy to have her back. She made an impact immediately upon stepping on the field. She stepped in and helped create great offensive chances for us."

It was the first of two goals in a span of 3:25, as Senatore connected on her 11^th of the season to double the advantage.

Riley Stern passed it ahead to the top of the box to Senatore and she shuffled to her right and sent it on net and past Lions goalkeeper Gillian McKenzie in the lower left corner.

Senatore's goal moved her into a tie with Amy Fulkerson, who had 11 in 1998, and it is the most since Olivia Draguicevich's 13 in 2022.

It is also her sixth game-winning goal of the season, one shy of Draguicevich's school record of seven set in 2021.

Stern's eighth assist moves her to a tie for third in the most assists in a season in program history.

She is two shy of the program record of 10.

Henderson buried the game-sealer in the 73^rd minute shortly after a corner kick.

Bailey Porter earned the corner for NSU, and the corner was pinballed to Porter, who headed it to Henderson, and she did the rest, booting it mid-air to the top right corner of the goal.

Hannah Bell finished off the scoring, recording the Lions only goal with a strike from outside the top left of the box to break the shutout in the 86^th minute.

Kennedy Rist had a sensational game, making eight saves, many of which came when the game was in doubt.

"She was fantastic," Brophy said. "When it was 2-0 and there was still plenty to play for and they started to push a little bit more. They knew how critical the next goal would be, and she came up with some big saves and kept us in front."

NSU was out-shot 17-16, losing the shots battle for the first time in SLC play, but the Demons made up for it by having the better of play when it came to dangerous chances.

Next up, the Demons head back to Natchitoches for their final two home games of the season, welcoming a red-hot McNeese team on Thursday before finishing the home slate with UIW on Oct. 19.