Cyclones Set To Take On Iowa And Minnesota

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State Soccer team (1-1 overall) is set to play a pair of matches this weekend in Iowa City, Iowa. The Cyclones start on Friday at 7:30 p.m. with the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk match-up against the hosting Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0 overall), which will be broadcast on BTN Plus. On Sunday, Iowa State takes on Minnesota (1-0-1 overall) at 11:30 a.m. Both matches will be played at the UI Soccer Complex.

Friday's match vs. Iowa will be the first competition in the 2017-18 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk series. Iowa won the series in 2016-17 after the Cyclones had retained the cup for three-straight year. The soccer team will have a chance to put ISU on the board first on Friday.

Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the second weekend of the season with a 1-0 record, fresh off a 5-1 victory last Sunday over Richmond. The Hawkeyes' Aug. 18 game vs. VCU was canceled due to lightning. Iowa returns nine starters and 22 letterwinners from last season's squad, which went 8-11 overall and 2-9 in the Big Ten.

Karly Stuenkel, Rose Ripslinger and Natalie Winters all entered the 2017 campaign as members of Big Ten Preseason honors lists. Stuenkel, a senior, looks to have a big season from the midfield after ranking second on the team with five goals in 2016.

Scouting the Gophers
Minnesota enters this weekend with a 1-0-1 record, and will face Notre Dame on Friday before taking on the Cyclones on Sunday. Their last time out, the Gophers defeated North Dakota State by a score of 3-0 on Monday in their home-opener.

Minnesota has relied on an impressive defense so far this season. Including exhibition play, the Golden Gophers have now 380 minutes without surrendering a goal. On average, opponents get 4.75 shots off per game on the Gophers, with only seven total shots being on goal. Junior goalkeeper Kailee Sharp has made six saves in those four games.

Cyclone Soccer Headlines
-Iowa leads the all-time soccer series vs Iowa State, 11-6-2. The Hawkeyes won last year's meeting in Ames, 2-0. Minnesota leads the all-time series vs. Iowa State, 6-1. However, the two teams have not met since Sep. 1, 2013.

-The Cyclones are looking to rebound from a 2-0 loss at Missouri on Sunday. Iowa State came out strong, matching the Tigers shot-for-shot much of the first half, resulting in a 0-0 tie at the intermission. However, Missouri came out of the locker room fast, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second stanza.

-Freshman Courtney Powell was a bright spot in the loss at Missouri. The native of La Porte City, Iowa provided strong minutes at the forward position and created good opportunities, particularly in the last 25 minutes of the match. Powell led the team with four shots, including two on goal. She is one of five true freshmen to have played this season.

-The Cyclones opened the 2017 season with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Creighton at the Cyclone Sports Complex on Aug. 18. Iowa State scored all three of its goals in the second half to improve to 3-1 in season-openers under head coach Tony Minatta.

-Iowa State's goals came from Brooke Tasker (49'), Merin Mundt (73') and Carly Langhurst (83'), as the Cyclones put the Bluejays away in the second half. Mundt tallied her goal and assisted on Langhurst's header, tallying three points in 35 minutes. Langhurst's goal to put the finishing touches on the ISU win was the first of her career.

-Tasker and the rest of Iowa State attack were relentless in the second stanza vs. Creighton, out-shooting the Bluejays 14-3 after the intermission. The redshirt junior led the attack with five shots, followed by three shots each for Kasey Opfer and Courtney Powell.

-Five true freshmen played in Friday's win over Creighton, including Dayja Schwichtenberg, who got the start in goal. Schwichtenberg got the shutout win with two saves in the first collegiate action of her career. Abigail Harbin, McKenna Schultz, Kassi Ginther and Courtney Powell were the other freshmen to see game action.

-The Cyclones are set to face one of the nation's toughest schedules, with three games against teams ranked in the NSCAA preseason top-10. Iowa State also holds the distinction of being the only team to play both of last year's NCAA finalists in West Virginia (preseason No. 1) and USC (preseason No. 3). Both games are on the road.

-Despite losing a strong six-player senior class from last season, Iowa State returns its top three point-scorers in Klasey Medelberg, Hannah Cade and Emily Steil. The Cyclones return 14 of 17 goals and 10 of 13 assists from a season ago.

-Cade, a midfielder, was named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team in 2016. Cade was second on the team in goals with three, including two game-winners against Big 12 opponents. She was the only freshman to be named Big 12 Freshman of the Week twice in 2016.

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.

Players Mentioned

Hannah Cade

Kassi Ginther

Abigail Harbin

Carly Langhurst

Klasey Medelberg

Merin Mundt

Kasey Opfer

Courtney Powell

McKenna Schultz

Dayja Schwichtenberg

Emily Steil

Brooke Tasker

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