HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions embark on their final road trip of the 2016 season this weekend as they look to secure a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament.

    The Lady Lions (6-8-2, 3-4-1 Southland) visit conference front-runner Central Arkansas (12-3-1, 7-0-1) Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to Northwestern State (9-6-0, 6-2-0) on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. The Lady Demons are tied with Stephen F. Austin (9-4-0, 6-2-0) for the second seed heading into the weekend. (Second-place Abilene Christian (7-7-2, 6-1-1) is ineligible for the postseason while finishing its transition into Division I.).

    Southeastern is currently tied for fourth in the tournament race with Nicholls (6-6-1, 3-4-1) and Houston Baptist (5-9-1, 3-4-1). Houston Baptist holds the tie-breaker with Southeastern behind a 2-1 win earlier this season, while the Lady Lions will host Nicholls in the season finale next Friday.

    "It's a big weekend for us," Southeastern interim head coach Matt Muia said. "We really want to make sure we get some points out of both games this weekend. Obviously, two tough opponents so this is our biggest road trip of the year and our biggest test of the year. We're really going to find out what our girls are made of this weekend." 
  
    Live stats for both games, provided by the host teams, will be accessible on the Southeastern women's soccer schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    Southeastern is coming off a split of a two-match homestand this past weekend. The Lady Lions blanked Sam Houston 3-0 on Friday before losing 4-0 to Stephen F. Austin on Sunday. Senior Hope Sabadash recorded her fourth shutout of the season and the 28^th of her career on Friday behind four saves. She added seven saves against SFA, extending her school career record to 378.

    Sophomore Sofia Olsson scored her team-high sixth goal of the season against Sam Houston while senior Casey Peacock had her third goal and team-high fourth assist. Freshman Amber Marinero scored her first collegiate goal while junior Lauren Babcock had her third assist of the year and sophomore Payton Colson her first. Junior Maddie Kresevic was an honorable mention Southland Defensive Player of the Week selection.

    Southeastern goes into the weekend leading the league with 301 shots while ranking fifth in saves (99) and tying for sixth in assists (18), goals allowed (24) and shutouts (four). The Lady Lions are also eighth in both goals (21) and points (60).

    Sabadash leads the conference with 99 saves, is fourth in shutouts and eighth in both goals against average (1.46) and save percentage (.805). Olsson and Colson are tied for third in the league in shots (42) while Peacock is tied for sixth (38). Olsson is also tied for sixth in goals and tied for ninth in points (13). Peacock is tied for 10^th in assists while Kresevic is tied for 10^th with two game-winning goals.

    Central Arkansas swept its two road matches last weekend, blanking Houston Baptist 1-0 and topping Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 6-2. Sophomore Cassie Bassett scored three goals on Sunday in earning Southland Offensive Player of the Week honors. Junior Jessica Pantuso, freshman Carlee Spears and freshman Jordan Slim also scored for the Bears. Junior Anna Hughes and sophomore Lauren Mercuri combined on Friday's shutout with Mercuri making five saves.

    Bassett leads the Southland and is ranked sixth nationally with 12 goals. She also tops the league in points (27) and shots (57) and is tied for first in game-winning goals (four). She is sixth nationally in goals per game (.86) and ninth in shots on goal per game (2.57).

    Sophomore Ashley Smith is tied for second in the conference with eight goals while ranking fourth in points (20) and tying for 10^th in assists (four). Junior Alex Moore paces the league with eight assists while tying for seventh with teammate Dayna Mounie with 14 points. Mounie, a junior, is also tied for 10^th in goals (five) and assists (four). Senior Shelby Wilson is tied for fourth in assists with six while Slim has tacked on four goals.

    Hughes is the league leader in GAA (0.38) and save percentage (.880), allowing just three goals in 720 minutes while making 22 saves. Mercuri is fourth in GAA (0.97) and save percentage (.837). She has given up eight goals while making 41 saves in 742-plus minutes.

    Central Arkansas is first in the league in goals (38), assists (35), points (111), goals allowed (11), GA (0.67) and shutouts (nine); is third in shots (263); and is tied for eighth in saves (64).

    Southeastern leads the all-time series 10-1 after taking a 1-0 win in Hammond in 2015. The Lady Lions have won the last nine meetings with Central Arkansas' lone win coming in 2007, 1-0, in Conway, Ark.

    Northwestern State, which hosts Nicholls on Friday, had a five-match winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss at Corpus Christi last Friday before rebounding with a 2-1 win at Houston Baptist. The win clinched the Lady Demons' first berth in the conference tournament since 2008 and gave them their most Southland wins since 2005 and their most overall wins since 2009. Senior Camila Ardila and junior Esdeina Gonzalez scored for Northwestern State while junior Alex Latham made 10 saves.

    Northwestern State has allowed the fourth-fewest goals (22) in the Southland while scoring the sixth-most (23). The Lady Demons also rank second in saves (107), tied for third in shutouts (five), fourth in GAA (1.45) and shots (194), seventh in points (61) and eighth in assists (15).

    Latham is tied for the league lead with five shutouts while also ranking second in saves (93), third in save percentage (.838) and sixth in GAA (1.22). Freshman April Trowbridge is tied for 10^th in goals (five) and fifth in shots (39). Gonzalez is tied for sixth with five assists and tied for ninth with 13 points. Gonzalez, Ardila and sophomore Brittany Caserma are tied for second on the Lady Demons with four goals apiece. Trowbridge and junior Cache' Haley have three assists apiece.

    Northwestern State is Southeastern's second-most common opponent. This will be the 34^th meeting between the two programs, behind only Stephen F. Austin (37). The Lady Lions lead the series 21-10-2 with the teams playing to a 1-1 tie in Hammond in 2015. Southeastern took a 3-2 double overtime win in Natchitoches in 2014. The Lady Demons' last win came 1-0 at home in 2009.