NATCHITOCHES—The road gets tougher for the Northwestern State soccer team, as it winds down the non-conference portion of the schedule.

After scoring seven first half goals last time out at Mississippi Valley State, the Demons (3-1-1) know the non-conference slate gets stronger from here on out.

That starts with a difficult game against Grambling (2-2-1) on Thursday at the Demon Soccer Complex.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. and fans who cannot make it to Natchitoches can watch it on ESPN+.

It is the third consecutive game against the SWAC after defeating Alcorn State and MVSU.

"We played them in the spring, so we are a little familiar with them," head coach Ian Brophy said. "It's definitely going to be a tough game. They are a very good team. Their results against East Texas A&M and HCU were very tight, and we know we are in for a very tough game, and they are the type of team that could win their conference.

"For us, it's going to be a good test, and it is an opportunity to show what we're about and hopefully pick up another big win."

The Demons dominated on offense and defense against the Devilettes, as evidenced by a pair of athletes earning weekly honors.

Kate Bouck took home the Defensive Player of the Week, as she led a defense that surrendered zero shots, a first for NSU since 2018.

She also added a goal in the scoring surge of five goals in a span of 6:03 in the middle of the first half to blow the game wide open.

Bouck, a transfer from Northern Arizona, wasted little time fitting in at NSU.

"I feel unbelievably blessed with where I ended up," Bouck said. The girls, coaches, the environment and the community—it all was just a perfect fit for me. It's been really easy for me to fit right in, and I get along with everybody and it has been super fun so far."

On offense, Emily Gundin won her first ever SLC weekly honor after scoring a pair of goals and dishing out an assist in the 7-0 domination of Mississippi Valley State.

It was just a matter of time for Gundin, as she was supremely confident going into this season that this will be a special one.

"I had a really good spring," Gundin said. "I was just talking to Coach Ian during our meeting and told him I think this is going to be my season. I set goals to have a certain number of goals this season. With it being three weeks in, it is really amazing, and I hope it only goes up from here."

With the seven-goal victory, NSU leads the conference in both goals (13) and goals against (5) and have surrendered just one goal in the past three games.

Against MVSU, Riley Stern posted three assists, which finished one shy of tying the school record of four. Her four total assists this season leads the Southland.

Brophy is encouraged that he has seen improvement with every game that is played.

"The hope is that we're taking things from game to game and learning and picking up on a couple things we do well and other things we don't do well," Brophy said. "I think it has been encouraging to see that growth both through the training sessions and through the games over the past few weeks."

Emily Senatore has four goals to lead the Demons, and her 15 career goals are creeping up on the top 10 in school history, as No. 10 is 21 by 2025 N-Club Hall of Fame inductee Heather Penico.

Hosane Soukou has scored three goals, just two shy of sneaking into the top 10 for most goals in a season by an NSU freshman.

Grambling has played three SLC opponents already, defeating Nicholls 3-0 in its home opener before falling to Houston Christian 1-0 and most recently, falling to East Texas A&M 2-1, with the latter two coming on the road.

As a team, the Tigers have scored eight goals this season with five coming by sophomore forward Alana Aiken, who has scored in two straight games, including a hat trick in the 3-0 win over Hampton on Aug. 24.

In goal, Kaia Bace has surrendered just three goals this season in nearly 400 minutes.

Following the contest, the Demons wrap up the two-game homestand with a visit from UL Lafayette on Sunday before taking their show on the road for a pair, including the SLC opener at UTRGV.