HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team will look to maintain its first-place standing in the Southland Conference race, heading north for a pair of league matches this week.

Unbeaten in their last eight matches, the Lady Lions (10-3-1, 4-0-1 SLC) will open their final road trip of the season on Friday, facing Central Arkansas (6-8-1, 0-5 SLC) at 4 p.m. in Conway, Ark. Live stats for Friday's match will be available at www.ucasports.com. On Sunday, Southeastern heads to Natchitoches for a 1 p.m. match with Northwestern State (8-8, 1-4 SLC). Live stats for Sunday's match will be available at www.nsudemons.com.

Southeastern had its seven-match win streak snapped last Sunday, battling to a 0-0 tie with fellow Southland leader Texas State. Southeastern has shutout its last three opponents.

With 44 goals scored on the year and only eight goals allowed, Southeastern ranks among the nation's top scoring offenses and defenses. The Lady Lions are fifth nationally with 3.14 goals per game and currently sit 14th nationally with 0.56 goals allowed per game.

Freshman Maiya Cooper leads the team with 12 goals and currently ranks eighth in the nation with 0.923 goals per game. Junior Natalie Santana (seven goals), senior Candice Wallace (four), freshman Karly Dagys (four), freshman Lauren Stillians (three) and senior Jenna Oney (three) are the other top scorers for the Lady Lions.

Cooper's goal total is the seventh-highest single-season tally posted in school history. Wallace (18, 8th) and Santana (16, ninth) both rank among the school's career-leading goal scorers.

Santana leads the Southland Conference with 10 assists and is currently fourth in the nation with 0.71 assists per match. Senior Gloria Burkhart (seven assists), Wallace (six), Stillians (three) and Oney (three) join Santana among the team's top distributors.

Santana's assist total is one short of the single-season school record, while Burkhart's tally is the ninth-best single-season total in program history. Wallace and Santana are currently tied for second on the school's career list with 20 assists each.

Cooper is second in the Southland Conference with 27 points and ranks 10th in the nation with 2.08 points per game. Cooper, Santana (24), Wallace (14), Burkhart (11) and Dagys (10) give Southeastern a quartet of student-athletes with double-digit scorers.

Cooper (eighth) and Santana (10th) have posted point totals that ranks among the program's best single-season point totals in school history. Wallace's 56 career points ranks sixth in school history, followed closely by Santana's seventh-place total of 52 points.

Behind the play of senior Dana Mayer, junior Brittany Prieto, junior Nicole Brannigan and sophomore Kyle MacIntosh in the defensive backfield, Southeastern has nine shutouts on the year and ranks 12th in the nation in shutout percentage. Sophomore goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus has been credited with eight shutouts and is second in the Southland with a 0.57 goals against average.

The Lady Lions will be looking to extend their shutout streak against a UCA team that has yet to score a goal in conference play. Cory Kaplinger leads the team with six goals on the year, while Randi Condley leads the Bears with four assists. Kelsey Gochnaver (1.19 GAA) and Kirby Huffstickler (1.32 GAA) have split time in the net for UCA.

Southeastern leads the all-time series with UCA, 2-1. Last season, the Lady Lions earned a 1-0 overtime win in Hammond.

Northwestern State, which hosts Nicholls State on Friday, is led by the duo of Chelsea Gibbs, who leads the team with seven goals, and Maddy Hall, who has chipped in five scores. Rachel O'Steen leads the team with five assists. Lindy Strahan has handled all but 70 minutes of the goalkeeping duties this season for the Lady Demons and heads into this week's action with a 1.11 goals against average.

Southeastern is 16-9-1 all-time versus Northwestern State. Last season, Southeastern earned a 1-0 victory in Hammond, but the Lady Lions have not won in Natchitoches since 2004.

Following this week's trip, Southeastern will return home to close out the regular season. On Oct. 30, the Lady Lions host McNeese State at 3 p.m. and Lamar will be in town for the regular season finale on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. Prior to the start of the match with the Lady Cardinals, Wallace, Mayer, Burkhart and Oney will be honored in a special Senior Day ceremony.