LAKE CHARLES – With the regular season narrowing down, there is just one mindset for the McNeese State women's soccer team and that is to survive and advance.
 
With only three games left in the Southland Conference regular season, the Cowgirls (6-8, 3-5 SLC) sit just outside of the teams eligible to reach the postseason. Currently in seventh place, McNeese's weekend matches are crucial in helping the Cowgirls punch their ticket to the conference tournament.
 
The Cowgirls split a pair of matches last weekend at home as they shut out Incarnate Word, 1-0, Friday evening before dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Abilene Christian, 3-2.
 
However, McNeese has become a squad this is comfortable with playing on the road this season. The Cowgirls have recorded a 4-3 mark on the road this season, the most since 2012. The McNeese "road warriors" are also 2-1 on the road in league action.
 
Sophomore Gabi D'Alesandro has paced the offense for most of the year and it shows on the stat sheets. She leads the team in goals (3), assists (4), shots (35) and shots on goal (16). She also has one game-winner that occurred on the road at ULM.
 
Seniors Maggie Marks and Lauren Sestak have shared time in the net this season. Marks has provided a .789 save percentage and a 1.45 goals against average while Sestak follows closely with a .783 save percentage and a 1.48 goals against average. Both seniors have recorded three wins apiece while Sestak leads the team with 47 saves.
 
Houston Baptist (8-4-1, 6-2 SLC) owns one of the hottest streaks in the Southland Conference. The Huskies have won four of their last five matches and are currently riding a two game winning streak. The defending SLC Tournament champions currently rank third in the regular season standings after defeating both Central Arkansas and Northwestern State on the road last weekend.
 
Sabriah Spencer is one of the most explosive strikers in the conference with nine goals, six of those are game-winners, and one assist on the year. Ellee Hall ranks second on the team in points with two goals and six assists.
 
The HBU defense has posted four shutouts this season with two student-athletes also sharing time in goal. Katie Turner has played most of the minutes and has a .750 save percentage while having turned in three clean sheets. Alanis Guevara has one shutout and 34 saves in over 591 minutes played.
 
The overall series is tied between the two squads, 2-2-1. The Huskies edged McNeese in overtime last season with a 2-1 victory in Houston.
 
Cowgirl fans can follow all of the action Friday night via "Live Stats" by logging on to the soccer schedule page on McNeeseSports.com.
 
Fans can receive in-game updates by following @McNeeseSoccer on Twitter and by liking the McNeese Sports page on Facebook.