Cyclones Set To Battle Fullerton, No. 12 USC

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State Soccer team (2-3-1) is headed west for a pair matches this weekend in California. The Cyclones open the road trip at Cal State Fullerton (3-1-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. CT in Fullerton, Calif. Iowa State then heads to Los Angeles to take on No. 12 USC (2-1), the defending national champions, on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

Sunday's match at USC will be streamed live by PAC-12 Networks. The link can be found here.

Scouting the Titans
Cal State Fullerton enters the weekend leading the Big West Conference standings with an overall record of 3-1-2. It is the program's best start to a season since 2015, when the Titans opened the campaign with a 6-0 record.

The Titans have out-cornered all their opponents this season 49-26. At 8.17 corner kicks per game, Fullerton ranks ninth in the country and lead the Big West Conference. Fullerton leads also their opponents with a shot on goal percentage .438 - .358.

Scouting the Trojans
USC, the defending national champions, enter this weekend with a 2-1 record. The Trojans are coming off a trip to the Midwest, where they defeated Missouri, 2-0, on Sept. 1 before falling 2-1 at Kansas on Sept. 3. USC will take on Santa Clara on Friday prior to facing Iowa State on Sunday afternoon.

Redshirt senior forward Alex Anthony will be a player to watch for USC. The 2016 All-Pac 12 selection started all 25 games in 2016, helping the Trojans' national championship run. Anthony is off to a tremendous start in 2017 as well, leading USC in points (4), goals (2) and shots (11).

Cyclone Soccer Headlines
-The Cyclones are coming off of a 1-0-1 weekend, tying South Dakota State in a scoreless 2OT match in Brookings, S.D., before coming out on top by way of a 2-0 victory over UMKC at home. Freshman goalkeeper Dayja Schwichtenberg was outstanding in both outings, picking up her second and third shutouts of the season.

-Following a scoreless first half vs. UMKC, an aggressive Iowa State side came out and controlled the second half. Freshman Courtney Powell eventually broke through with a goal in the 73rd minute, with an assist from Brooke Tasker to put Iowa State on the board. Powell now leads the Cyclones with two goals on the season.

-Emily Steil came through with her first goal of the season in the 76th minute vs. UMKC on a header off a cross from sophomore Hannah Cade, extending the Cyclone lead to 2-0.

-Iowa State has established itself as one of the youngest rotations in the Big 12, with freshmen Schwichtenberg, Powell, Kassi Ginther, Abigail Harbin, McKenna Schultz and Shea Sullivan all playing at least 20 minutes vs. UMKC. Schwichtenberg has started every game in goal, while Powell and Harbin have also garnered starting nods.

-Powell was a bright spot for the Cyclones despite an 0-2 weekend in Iowa City August 25-27. Powell scored the first goal of her career on a break-away in the 58th minute of ISU's contest vs. Minnesota. Sophomore defender Carly Langhurst was also a standout, leading the Cyclones with three shots, including one on goal, in the overtime loss to Iowa. Her play on the backline was also exceptional in holding the Hawkeyes scoreless in regulation

-Junior defender Jordan Enga has been a stalwart on the Cyclone back line, having started all four games this season at center back, after tallying 10 starts in 2016. Enga ranks No. 2 on the team in minutes played this season with 545, second only to goalkeeper Dayja Schwichtenberg.

-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 vs. Creighton 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.

-The Cyclones are set to face one of the nation's toughest schedules, with three games against teams ranked in the NSCAA top-7. 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.

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

Hannah Cade

Jordan Enga

Kassi Ginther

Abigail Harbin

Carly Langhurst

Merin Mundt

Kasey Opfer

Courtney Powell

McKenna Schultz

Dayja Schwichtenberg

Emily Steil

Brooke Tasker

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