Cyclones Return Home To Face Kansas

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State Soccer team (2-8-1) is set to take on Kansas (5-5-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Cyclone Sports Complex. It will be ISU's Big 12 home opener after starting conference play last weekend with two matches on the road.

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

Scouting the Jayhawks
After reeling off a five-game winning streak, which was capped by a 2-1 upset win over No. 7 USC on Sept. 3, Kansas is winless in its six most recent outings, which includes a 1-1 draw at Texas Tech Sunday. The Jayhawks, who were picked to finish second by the league's coaches in the Big 12's preseason poll, are in the midst of a stretch of five-straight matches away from Rock Chalk Park.

The Kansas offense is led by one of the most dynamic players in the Big 12 in junior forward Grace Hagan. The native of Wichita, Kan., has racked up a team-high five goals to go with three assists in 12 matches this season. Hagan has put 11 of her 17 shots on target (.647).

Cyclone Soccer Headlines
-The Cyclones are looking to bounce back from an 0-2 weekend in Texas to open Big 12 play. Iowa State battled Texas, the nation's last unbeaten/untied team, for 90 minutes last Friday, 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 "golden goal" by Lauren Piercy. ISU has now played four overtime matches this season, including two in the last three outings.

-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 was in goal for the entirety of the Texas and Baylor matches. She made a career-high eight saves at Texas.

-Early in conference play, Iowa State is already a battle-tested squad. The Cyclones played three consecutive matches against top-20 teams in No. 12 USC, No. 7 Florida and No. 17 Texas, dropping all three contests by just one goal.

-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.

-Medelberg is now tied with freshman forward Courtney Powell with two goals each on the season. The junior has come on strong of late, and put tremendous pressure on the Florida back line. She fired off a career-high six shots in the match, including three on goal. Medelberg netted her first goal of the season in ISU's 2-1 loss at Cal State Fullerton on a beatiful strike from beyond the 18-yard box in the 90th minute.

-Junior defender Jordan Enga has been a stalwart for the Cyclones, having started every game this season at center back, after tallying 10 starts in 2016. Enga ranks No. 1 on the team in playing time with 1,007 of 1,022 possible minutes played so far this season. She has not been subbed out of a match since Aug. 21 vs. Minnesota.

-The Cyclones went 0-2 on their weekend trip to California, where Iowa State was clipped 2-1 by Cal State Fullerton, before a 2-0 loss to the defending national champion, No. 12 USC.

-The Trojans scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes of the Sunday match in Los Angeles before the Cyclones found their footing. After being out-shot 13-0 in the first half, the Cyclones narrowed the gap to just 8-7 in the second stanza and allowed just two opportunities on goal. ISU also out-cornered the Trojans 6-2 in the match.

-Iowa State is the only program in the country to play both of last year's national finalists (USC and West Virginia). Both of those matches are on the road.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Cade

Jordan Enga

Klasey Medelberg

Merin Mundt

Courtney Powell

Antonia Reyes

Dayja Schwichtenberg

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics