HAMMOND - Southeastern Louisiana junior midfielder Dana Mayer scored seven minutes into the second half, giving Southeastern enough offense to earn a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Northwestern State in Southland Conference women's soccer action Friday afternoon at the Southeastern Soccer Complex. 

The Lady Lions (8-4-1, 2-3 SLC) earned their second straight conference victory, thanks in large part to an exceptional defensive effort. Southeastern held a 7-3 shot advantage in the match, keeping the high-powered offense of Northwestern State (7-6-1, 2-2 SLC) in check. Northwestern State had 30 goals on the season heading into Friday's match and had posted a 6-0 victory over Lamar in its most recent match. 

Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle was very pleased with his team's efforts. 

"Our entire team's performance was at an extremely high level today," Hornbuckle said. "We were extremely proud of our team's efforts against a very good Northwestern State team.

"Today's win was a total team effort, but several players really shined for us," Hornbuckle added. "Kyle MacIntosh was fantastic in the back and was able to frustrate Northwestern State by not letting them get into their attack. Natalie Santana was key in the central midfield and did a nice job of holding space and distributing. Dana showed composure throughout the match, especially on the goal she scored. Our forwards Kristin McDonald and Janae Sheldon did excellent work keeping possession, which allowed everyone a chance to join the attack."

Neither team could get much going offensively in the opening period. Mayer attempted two shots that sailed wide in the opening half, while Santana struck a shot that sailed just high. Behind an impressive effort from the defensive backfield of MacIntosh, Brittany Prieto, Shalayne Heffner and Nicole Brannigan, Southeastern held the Lady Demons without a shot in the second half. 

Southeastern cashed in on its best scoring opportunity of the match in the 53rd minute. McDonald beat her defender deep in the box, causing a Lady Demon back to try and stop her. Meanwhile, a charging Mayer slipped behind the back side of the NSU defense. McDonald played a perfect cross and Mayer knocked it past NSU goalkeeper Lindy Strahan from point blank range to score what would amount as the match's only score. The goal was the fifth of the season for the Toronto, Ont. native.

Both defenses held strong from the remainder of the match. Northwestern State put pressure on the Lady Lions in the final minutes, but the efforts of MacIntosh, Heffner, Prieto, Brannigan, as well as Santana kept NSU off the scoreboard. Southeastern freshman goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus recorded her seventh shutout of the season and was credited with two saves.

Southeastern will close out its home schedule on Sunday, hosting Central Arkansas at 1 p.m. at the Southeastern Soccer Complex. The Lady Lions will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday, as McDonald, Heffner, Sheldon, Sarah Cheung and Jehan Ayap will be honored prior to Sunday's match. Senior Day festivities are scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m.