HAMMOND—In a defensive battle when chances are at a premium, every chance is magnified, and it was Southeastern Louisiana that took advantage of one of its chances late in the game in a 1-0 win over Northwestern State on Thursday at Strawberry Stadium.
NSU (7-8, 4-3) dropped its second consecutive game, as the Lions (8-6-2, 4-3-1) found the back of the net off a rebound to score the game's only goal in the 89
th minute the defensive slugfest.
Kaitlyn Tung broke free and attempted a shot that was saved by NSU goalkeeper
Audrey Marfia, but the rebound bounced back to Tung, who sent it home on the right side of the goal.
It finished off an offensive flurry for the Lions to end the game, as SLU had four shot attempts in a span of 26 seconds in the 89
th minute, capped off by the Tung decisive goal.
"I thought in the first half we weren't very good and was disappointed with the way we were playing," head coach
Ian Brophy said. "I thought we looked competitive and just didn't complete enough passes in the second. We were just very poor technically in the first half and then I thought we played much better in the second half and got into a rhythm and then I was just frustrated by some of the chances that we gave away and, especially at the end, not to have the maturity to see out the game in the right way and get a really valuable point on the road.
"It's very frustrating. Like I told the team after the game, it's medicine and we've got to take it. It doesn't taste good, but we've got to figure out how we can get better from this and use it to learn and improve."
Marfia made two saves in that flurry and six for the game for the Demons, which have lost three out of five games after a 2-0 start in Southland play.
Chances were at a premium the entire game with few scoring chances, as the Lions led in shots 16-4 and shots on goal 7-2, but only a few were saves in dangerous opportunities.
The Demons had a solid chance in the 15
th minute after a turnover in the Lions end, but
Tiana Cruz booted it a bit too hard out in front of her and it rolled over the end line for a goal kick.
NSU did a strong job of keeping SLU off the board on set pieces as the Lions had 11 corner kicks, including eight in the first half, but nothing resulted in a dangerous opportunity for the home team.
The back line was helped out by the return of defender
Rhiley Potteiger, who had missed the last 10 games. The junior played 10 minutes in her return.
"It was a boost for the whole team to have Rhiley back," Brophy said. "Just to see her out there and see her back in action and she's not only such a good player and a good technical player, but also a leader. I was really happy to see her back, as she's been working so hard behind the scenes. To get back and see her get those rewards and get to play was awesome to watch."
NSU shut down SLU leading scorer Alexandra Knight, who only recorded one shot attempt. Tung and Charlotte Lewis stepped up, combining for seven shot attempts for SLU, including four on frame.
Kendall Curran made a pair of saves to record the shutout for the Lions, which have won three games in a row.
The road isn't any easier for the Demons, as they return home to face a strong Nicholls team on Sunday before closing out the regular season at McNeese (Nov. 1) and at home against UTRGV (Nov. 5).
