LAFAYETTE—Northwestern State stays in-state for its fourth consecutive road game to begin the 2026 season when it heads to UL Lafayette for a Sunday evening tilt.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at the Home Bank Soccer & Track Complex. It is not being streamed, but admission is free for fans who want to drive down and attend in person. There is a clear bag policy at the stadium.

NSU (0-3) comes off its stretch of three straight games against power conference teams when it heads to ULL (1-0-1), which is coming off a 3-3 tie on the road against East Texas A&M.

"Every year we've played them, it's been a brutally tough game," head coach Ian Brophy said. "We've played them every year since I've been here either in the preseason or regular season, and it has been a really tight game.

"We know it is going to be another really tough game, and we've got to be at it in order to get a result. We have to focus on us and whether we can do the things right and things we want to do."

Overall, the Demons are the third Southland team the Ragin' Cajuns have played this season after also downing Southeastern Louisiana 4-1 on the road in the regular season opener.

The last time ULL lost to a team from the Southland was in 2023, going 7-0-3 in the last 10 games.

During Brophy's tenure, his teams have played ULL in each of the past two seasons before this one, with both being close contests—a 1-0 Cajuns win in Lafayette in 2024 and a 1-1 tie in Natchitoches last season.

Audrey Marfia made a career-high seven saves in last season's meeting in her first career start at goalkeeper for NSU.

She stopped five shots in Houston last game after starting the second half. She forms a formidable duo in goal for the Demons with Saki Tsuchiya, who is third in the Southland with 13 saves.

The 21 total saves made for NSU during the first three games are tied for sixth nationally.

Two players—Paige Baumgartner and Emily Gundin—lead the Demons with a pair of shots attempted.

On the Ragin' Cajuns, Miku Kurihara leads the team with three goals having scored in all three contests so far.

Kurihara had seven goals last year, which tied for the team lead, including scoring the tying goal in the 89^th minute against the Demons in 2025.

Of the eight goals scored by ULL this season, six have been assisted on and have total seven assists.

Following the game, the Demons have a little break before rounding out their stretch on the road Sept. 3 at Alcorn State before coming back to Natchitoches for the first time in the regular season on Sept. 6 against in-state foe Louisiana Tech.