While revenge may not be the right word, the league-leading Northwestern State soccer team wants to even the score against Houston Christian tonight at the Demon Soccer Complex.
After winning the Southland Conference regular season crown a season ago, the Demons were upended 2-1 against HCU in the conference tournament semifinals and the Huskies went onto win the tournament title and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Kickoff this evening between Northwestern (7-6 overall, 4-1 in the SLC) and HCU (6-3-5, 2-0-3) is at 7 o’clock with ESPN+ coverage available.
“I don’t know about revenge, but we definitely want to set things straight,” NSU coach Ian Brophy said. “We have some real motivation to make this thing work and really motivated to defend home turf and get out of here with a win.”
Once again, the teams are fighting for the SLC regular season title.
The Demons are tied with UIW atop the league with 12 points and HCU needs to win in order to keep pace. While the Huskies are the only SLC team without a conference loss, they need wins to stay alive in the regular season title chase.
Due to the wins over East Texas A&M and AMCC and only surrendering one goal, goalkeeper Audrey Marfia was named Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time in three weeks.
NSU is back at home where it feels most comfortable. The Demons have gone a school-record 15 consecutive games without losing in front of the home fans, a streak that dates back two years.
In addition to 15 straight unbeaten games at home, NSU has won in its last nine at the Demon Soccer Complex.
HCU has been a tough test for the Demons, as not only did the Huskies beat the Demons in the conference tournament last year but also has gone 4-1-1 against NSU since the start of the 2022 season.
“They are tough to beat,” Brophy said. “They work really hard and are tough to score on and they are dangerous as well, so they are good at possession, similar to us. It will be a good offensive game and who takes their chances and plays their futbol the best.”
VOLLEYBALL: Northwestern hits the road this week starting today when it takes on the Nicholls Colonels at 6:30 p.m. in Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux.
The Demons (11-10, 3-3 SLC) are coming off a nice win Saturday afternoon at home over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. NSU was able to snap a 15-set and five-game losing streak against the Islanders with the win led by Elsie Sanchez with 14 kills and Jade Longlad’s 41 assists. The win allowed the Demons to finish the four-game homestand 2-2.
“We were pretty gritty in that match,” said NSU head coach Ben Kaszeta. “And the way we were able to find a way to adjust into something different, that’s hard. Corpus Christi was fast and once we learned to adjust to that speed we took off from there. And then set four, we didn’t let up which is something we have been working on later in matches to play with the right intensity.”
The Colonels are 9-10 overall and 2-4 in conference matches.
The Demons are led by Sanchez with 3.37 kills per set. Sanchez is second in the Southland in total kills at 236.
NSU’s Jade Longlad, a senior setter, continues to lead the conference in total assists (676) and is second in assists per set (9.52) behind UT-Rio Grande Valley’s Lana Rnjak (9.55 aps).
Sophomore Emmarie McFarland leads the league in total digs (353) and is fourth in digs per set (4.64). McFarland has 10 or more digs in 20 of 21 matches this season.