NATCHITOCHES, La. - The McNeese soccer program (4-4-2, 1-0-1 SLC) takes to the road twice this weekend as it faces Northwestern State (4-6-0, 2-1-0 SLC) Friday evening and HCU (3-5-0, 1-1-0 SLC) Sunday afternoon. The matches are to be played at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex and Sorrels Field respectively.

"NSU has always been a rivalry type matchup and Ian has done a great job this year so we expect it to be a hard-fought game," said head coach Drew Fitzgerald. "They have several attacking players that can create and cause problems so we'll need to be locked in."

Fitzgerald went on to remark about HCU, saying, "Chris always has his teams well rehearsed and organized and HCU typically plays an attractive style of play. Matches with HCU tend to be less about physicality and more about who can execute."

Two Cowgirls earned SLC Players of the Week as announced Tuesday with senior Martine Ellefsen being named Defensive Player of the Week and junior Jackie Kelly earning Goalkeeper of the Week recognition. Ellefsen collected her first collegiate goal to force a draw against the Islanders Friday. Kelly assisted the team to a combined shutout against Nicholls.

McNeese has gone 2-1-1 in its prior four matchups against the Lady Demons and look to avenge a season-ending loss to them in the SLC Tournament in 2022.

Against HCU, the Cowgirls went 4-1-0 in their last five meetings. McNeese was able to last defeat the Huskies while on the road during the 2021 campaign, 2-1 in Houston.

Both matches are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+ (available with a subscription) and have live stats to follow along as well.

McNeese Notes
- Martine Ellefsen was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week (9/26) after scoring her first collegiate goal against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to force a tie.
- Jackie Kelly earned SLC Goalkeeper of the Week (9/26) honors after playing 135 minutes on the weekend, earning the win in a combined shutout victory over Nicholls.
- McNeese has outscored its opponents 18-11 thus far.
- The Cowgirls have taken and made three penalty kicks this season after not having a single attempt a year ago.
- McNeese averages about 1.18 goals when taking on NSU.
- The Cowgirls average 1.19 goals against the Huskies.

Northwestern State Notes/Series Record
- The Lady Demons have only faced one common opponent thus far, defeating Jackson State 2-0.
- NSU has defeated SLU and UIW, falling only to A&M-Commerce in league play.
- The team has earned eight goals while allowing 15 to opponents.
- Libe Banuelos leads the goalkeepers with 10 starts and 41 saves with Kora Fry playing in two games and collecting five saves.
- Taylor Spitzer leads the team with half of its goals at four with three other players collecting the rest.
- NSU holds the slight advantage over the Cowgirls with a 17-16-6 all-time record.
- In their last 10 matches, McNeese has gone 6-3-1 against the Lady Demons.

HCU Notes/Series Record
- HCU has scored 13 goals while permitting 21 in the net.
- The Huskies have earned 12 saves to add to their goal total.
- Two goalkeepers have earned starts for the team and combined for 25 saves.
- Eight unique players have scored at least one goal with nine earning at least one assist.
- Against common opponents, HCU is 2-1, beating Nicholls 5-0 to open conference play and Texas Southern 2-0 before that. The Huskies also faced Texas State, where they suffered a 3-1 loss.
- McNeese and HCU are tied 7-7-2 all-time against each other.
- Both teams have been evenly matched in their last 10 matchups, ending up with a reocrd of 5-5.