Cyclones At Home For Weekend Big 12 Battles

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State Soccer team (2-9-1) will be in action at the Cyclone Sports Complex for a pair of Big 12 matches this weekend. The Cyclones take on Oklahoma (2-8-3) on Friday at 7 p.m., before facing No. 25 Oklahoma State (10-1-2) on Sunday at noon.

Both matches will be broadcast live on Cyclones.tv. Admission is free to all home soccer matches during the 2017 season.

Scouting the Sooners
Oklahoma is coming off back-to-back 0-0 ties against Baylor and No. 8 Texas to open Big 12 play. In perhaps their most impressive outing of the season to date, the Sooners shut down the Longhorns on Oct. 1, ending UT's winning streak as the nation's final unbeaten/untied team.

Freshman goalkeeper McKinley Crone was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after posting the back-to-back shutous in 220 minutes of action between the posts. Crone made a career-high nine saves against Baylor.

Scouting the Cowgirls
Oklahoma State looks to remain perfect in Big 12 play with another weekend road trip, as the Cowgirls will first travel to Morgantown to take on No. 8 West Virginia on Friday before battling the Cyclones at noon on Sunday in Ames. Winners of three in a row, the 19th-ranked Cowgirls are 10-1-2 overall and own a 3-0-0 conference mark.

Junior forward Haley Woodard has been dynamic leading the Cowgirl attack this season. Woodard leads Oklahoma State in points (15) and goals (6) despite playing in just nine games and making four starts. Anna Beffer has keyed the OSU offense with a team-leading eight assists on the season.

Cyclone Soccer Headlines
-Their last time out, the Cyclones dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Kansas. Iowa State took a 1-0 halftime lead behind a beautiful strike from Klasey Medelberg in the 32nd minute, but were unable to hold off a relentless Jayhawk attack in the second stanza.

-Medelberg has come on strong of late, scoring Iowa State's last three goals to lead all Cyclones. The junior forward ranks first on the team in points (6) and goals (3), and is No. 2 on the team in shots (22) and shots on goal (8). With six matches to play in the regular season, Medelberg is one goal shy of her 2016 season total of four.

-Riley Behan, a junior defender, has started seven matches and has seen an uptick in playing time on the back line over the past month. The native of Davenport, Iowa, also notched the first assist of her career vs. Kansas, finding Medelberg for ISU's first goal in conference play.

-Goalkeeper Antonia Reyes has been excellent since breaking into the Iowa State starting lineup on Sept. 8 at Cal State Fullerton. Reyes and Dayja Schwichtenberg shared GK duties the next three games, but Reyes has been in goal for every minute of Big 12 play. The made a career-high eight saves at Texas.

-Center backs Jordan Enga and Brianna Johnson have been stalwarts for the Cyclones. The duo have helped to steady an otherwise injury-riddled ISU back line, helping Iowa State to a 1.33 goals against average. Enga ranks No. 1 on the team in playing time with 1,097 of 1,112 possible minutes played so far this season. She has not been subbed out of a match since Aug. 21 vs. Minnesota.

-Sophomore Merin Mundt has been a bright spot for the Cyclones, excelling at taking set pieces. Mundt, a defender, has registered two assists and a goal in 2017, all coming on corner kicks and free kick opportunities.

-The Cyclones opened Big 12 play with an 0-2 weekend in Texas. ISU battled Texas, the nation's last unbeaten/untied team, for 90 minutes on Sept. 22, but fell 1-0 behind Haley Berg's goal in the 50th minute. ISU put on a furious rally in the final 10 minutes, with multiple dangerous chances on goal, but were unable to break through.

-Iowa State then fell in a 1-0 overtime heart-breaker at Baylor on Sunday. The Cyclones put together an outstanding defensive effort, fending off 17 Bear shots, but lost in the 96th minute on a goal by Lauren Piercy. ISU has now played four overtime matches this season, including two in the last three outings.

-The Cyclones pushed the No. 7 Gators to the brink before falling 2-1 in overtime. Junior Klasey Medelberg gave Iowa State a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute on an assist from Hannah Cade and Merin Mundt before Florida found a second-half equalizer. UF's Deanne Rose scored a golden goal in the 96th minute to defeat ISU.

Follow Iowa State Soccer's Twitter account (@cycloneSCR) for live updates during the match. Results will be available on Cyclones.com after the conclusion of the game.

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Players Mentioned

Riley Behan

Hannah Cade

Jordan Enga

Brianna Johnson

Klasey Medelberg

Merin Mundt

Antonia Reyes

Dayja Schwichtenberg

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