BEAUMONT, Texas—Going into the season, the Northwestern State soccer had many goals.

However, two goals—a Southland Conference regular season championship and a Southland Tournament championship—stand above the rest.

NSU (11-3-3, 6-1-1) has a chance to capture one of those goals at Lamar (5-6-5, 2-2-4) on Thursday at the LU Soccer Complex.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"It is going to be a tough game," head coach Ian Brophy said. "Lamar is a very good team with some very dangerous players, especially the league's leading scorer. We know if we give up an opportunity, they can put it away.

"For us, it's about doing the things we have done, and obviously clean sheets give us a real opportunity to do well and win matches. If we can get out of there with a clean sheet, it should be a step closer for us in terms of winning a title."

The Demons can clinch the conference regular season crown with a win, the first of two they aim to earn in Beaumont, as the field is where the conference tournament is being held.

NSU can either clinch with a triumph at Lamar or a loss by second-place Stephen F. Austin at UIW.

NSU was in a similar position last season, as it could have won the SLC title with a victory at Stephen F. Austin last season in the regular season finale, but the Lumberjacks came away with a 5-0 win.
The Demons remember that experience and are prepared to handle the moment this time around.

"This team has learned a lot from that experience last year and coming up just short," Brophy said. "The hope is to use that as fuel to make sure it doesn't happen again. For us, we need to stay focused on the little things and doing all the things we know are going to lead to success."

NSU is coming off a strong weekend, finishing off an unbeaten home schedule with shutout victories over McNeese and UIW.

The weekend earned a sweep of the conference weekly awards.

Paige Baumgartner, who won the offensive player of the week, has found the back of the net in three consecutive games, and has four goals during Southland play, which is tied for the tops in the conference.

Baumgartner's eight points are tied for second in the Southland in league games, only trailing Lamar's Lauren Smith.

One of her running mates is freshman Hosane Soukou, and the pair has developed a strong chemistry with each other.

"We're both fast players," Soukou said. "When she has the ball and she's driving and beating all the defenders, I am able to keep up with her, and I am able to get to places where she can find me. In the last two games, she was able to follow the ball where I was going to play and it was right place, right time, and she scored, so I am so proud of her."

The Cardinals are aiming to hold on to their tournament spot, as they are in a jumbled mess within the SLC standings, as fourth-place Southeastern Louisiana is just three points ahead of ninth-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

With 10 points, Lamar is three points ahead of last-place UTRGV.

Smith leads the SLC in goals (10), assists (4) and points (24). Annika Kassenbrock is tied with Riley Stern for the most assists in the Southland with eight.

Twelve Cardinals have found the back of the net and are ranked just behind the Demons (36) in total goals with 30.

It is strength vs. strength as the Demons defense has been lights out, led by goalkeeper Kennedy Rist, who won her fourth conference weekly award of the season Tuesday.

She has only allowed three goals during league play, leading to a goals against average of a minuscule .382 during Southland games and a save percentage of .893, both of which are the best mark in the conference.

The back line helped out as well, only surrendering six shots on goal in the two victories.

"Annie (Stook) filled in great as a defender," Madison Murphy said. "It was just a next-person-up mentality, and she just did her job. Before each game, as the defenders, our mindset is to keep a clean sheet. That is our main focus, every single game.

"Shout out to Kennedy, who was the Goalkeeper of the Week again. She is always back there to help us when we do make mistakes. Our defenders work together so well, and we've created a bond and our ultimate goal is to keep that clean sheet."

Following the match, the Demons take a week off before heading to Nicholls to wrap up the regular season Oct. 30. The SLC Tournament begins Nov. 4 on the campus of Lamar.