NATCHITOCHES—Northwestern State enters the 2026 season with high expectations once again after earning the program's third ever regular season championship in 2025.

The Demons start their journey to defend that title Saturday as they host LSU-Eunice in the lone home exhibition of the season and only home game in the month of August.

Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. and NSU athletics will be handing out schedule posters at the gate.

"Nothing is better than being able to play at home and have our fans here," senior captain Emily Gundin said. "I know a lot of us are going to have friends and family who are going to come out and support.

"We were undefeated at home last year, so we set that bar high, so we're seeing if we can maintain that this season. It is going to be a night game under the lights. Nothing can beat that."

It is the second and final preseason match for NSU before opening the season Wednesday at Oklahoma.

"We're hoping to learn a lot," head coach Ian Brophy said. "We're looking forward to seeing them against another team. We've obviously seen them in practice, but we're looking forward to seeing what areas we're strong in and what areas we can do better. It will be a great learning experience."

It is also the fourth time in the last five years that the Demons have hosted an exhibition game. The only season they did not was last year when NSU rolled to a 5-0 win at Southern in its lone preseason match, which turned out to be a good omen for how the season would go.

The Demons were picked first in the Southland Conference preseason poll after winning the regular season conference crown last season.

NSU is led by four returning players who were named All-Southland Conference a season ago, including three first teamers—Riley Stern, Paige Baumgartner and Hosane Soukou.

Emma Pethel earned second team honors, helping solidify a strong back line for the Demons.

Stern had nine assists a season ago and her 11 career assists are just one shy of joining the top 10 in program history in that category. Those nine assists are the second-most in a single season in school history.

Baumgartner is the leading returning goal scorer in the Southland this season with eight tallies and Soukou was fourth on the team with 17 points as a freshman, recording six goals and five assists. She announced her presence with authority with a game-tying goal in the second half of season-opening upset win at Texas.

Pethel helped lead a defense that posted 11 shutouts and six more where it only surrendered one goal.

Overall, NSU has developed a terrific culture over the past several years, and that helped the Demons' retention rate, as 17 of the 25 players on this year's roster are returners.

"Having the core come back every season has been great," Brophy said. "That is a big reason why we've been successful, as we've had a really strong culture here. That culture is something we have built over three and four years and we have really strong leadership. They have really built into what we're doing.

"With Riley (Stern) and Emily (Gundin) here the whole time I've been here, they know what we're doing here and know about the leadership. We've been lucky to have our core group return."

NSU brings in five transfers, including Rhiley Potteiger from Southern Miss and Maliya Maldonado from Southern Miss, as well as goalkeeper Saki Tsuchiya, all of whom expect to be major contributors this season.

Most, if not all, of the available Demons players will play in the game. It will give everybody the opportunity to showcase in front of the home crowd, and more importantly, the coaching staff.

"I am really excited about the progress we're making," Brophy said. "We're working through a lot and learning a lot, which is what we want to see. We want to see a lot of learning and development through these first three weeks, and I think we've been seeing that progress and development. It's been fun for us as coaches, and hopefully for them as players. We're excited to finally get into game action."