BEAUMONT, Texas—Coming off another thrilling Southland Conference Tournament victory, Northwestern State must quickly turn the page, as it plays red-hot Houston Christian on Thursday in the conference tournament semifinals at the LU Soccer Complex on the campus of Lamar.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.

Top-seeded NSU (13-4-3) earned its way to the semis on a goal with three ticks left in overtime by freshman Kendall Hemperley, defeating No. 8 McNeese 1-0.

It was just the latest in a string of six consecutive SLC Tournament matches for the Demons to go into overtime.

The Demons have now gone to the SLC Tournament semifinals in six of the last seven seasons, including all three seasons under head coach Ian Brophy.

Fifth-seeded HCU (10-8-2) made its way to the semis by way of a dominant 4-0 win against No. 4 East Texas A&M after winning 2-0 against Lions to end the regular season.

"It is going to be a defensive battle," Brophy said. "It is going to be a tough, tough, match. For both teams, it is going to be scrappy and gritty. We both play good soccer, which might neutralize each other a little bit.

"It will be a good game, and they did beat us last time, so the hope is that we can look at what we can do better and hopefully improve and execute on what we want to do."

Being a freshman, it might be difficult for some to turn the page after such a big victory, but Hemperley knows it is just one win and there are bigger goals for the team.

"We take that win like we do every win," Hemperley said. "We enjoy it while it's fresh, but as soon as soon as it's time for that next game, you have to turn all that off and then start looking forward to the next game."

In the previous meeting this season, Jasmine Diaz scored on a corner kick in the 50^th minute to give the Huskies a 1-0 win in Houston on Sept. 28.

NSU out-shot HCU 17-7 in the game, but the Huskies had more shots on frame, 4-3.

The series overall has been tight (HCU leads 8-7-2), as have the matches between the two, as 12 of the 17 have been decided by no more than one goal, including the last seven.

NSU is aiming for a bit of school history during the tournament.

The 13 wins the for the Demons are tied for the second most in program history, trailing just the 15 set in 2000.

Goalkeeper Kennedy Rist has posted nine shutouts this season, which are tied for the second most in program history for a single season, while one more goal from Emily Senatore this season would tie her for second in school history for goals in a season.

The winner of the game takes on the winner of the other semifinal match between host school No. 6 Lamar and No. 2 Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 1 p.m.