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Iowa State University Athletics
2023 Soccer Season in Review
12.07.2023 | Soccer
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State finished its 2023 season with a 6-11-1 record and a 3-7 mark in conference play – it's most wins in the Big 12 since 2016. The Cyclones placed 11th in the league standings, winning two of their final three matches.
ISU recorded its most wins under head coach Matt Fannon in 2023 and the most in a single season since 2016 when the team won 10. Iowa State saw its offensive production climb in Fannon's fourth year, putting up the most goals since 2014.
Iowa State swept the Sunflower State schools in the final weeks of the season, beating KU 1-0 at home before taking down K-State in Manhattan, 2-1. The Cyclones were playing their best as the season wound down, competing with No. 6 Texas Tech in the regular season finale, losing 1-0.
Texas Tech would go on to win the Big 12 regular season title, while BYU got second. The Cougars faced off with Texas in the Big 12 Championship title game and fell to the Longhorns. BYU, though, would end up advancing all the way to the national semifinals, falling to Stanford one match shy of the championship.
Overall, Iowa State competed against six teams that made the College Cup (Iowa, South Dakota State, Memphis, Texas, BYU and Texas Tech). Memphis, Texas, BYU and Texas Tech all advanced to at least the third round.
Key Storylines
- Iowa State met three new opponents in the 2023 campaign, beating both Houston and Portland State and falling to BYU and Cincinnati.
- The Cyclones were given a major task in the 2023 season – replacing NWSL draft pick Jordan Silkowitz between the sticks. Redshirt freshman Avery Gillahan was given the reigns and held down the net for the entire season, missing just 45 minutes of action.
- Gillahan earned two Big 12 Freshman of the Week awards for her play.
- Mira Emma and Salomé Prat became the first pair of ISU teammates to record 10 or more points in a season since 2014.
- Both Emma and Prat had two GWGs. It's the first time since 2016 that two Cyclones have had multiple game-winners.
- 10 athletes made their first appearance for the Cyclones this season. Five transfers and five freshmen (two redshirts) all made major contributions for the Cyclones.
- Redshirt freshman Avery Horner made her return to the pitch for the Cyclones, having missed a year and a half with a knee injury.
- Iowa State's offense scored 19 goals this season. It's the team's most since 2014. The team also had its most assists since 2013, with 15.
- Iowa State's 2023 season was the first to be played on the brand-new playing surface at the Cyclone Soccer Complex.
- ISU went from a synthetic turf field to a laser-leveled grass pitch.
- The Cyclones had to replace 43% of their scoring in 2023 as only five starters returned.
- ISU had a few new faces on the sidelines in 2023, as Kathleen Duwve (assistant coach/goalkeepers coach) and Olivia Seddon (soccer development coordinator) were brought on.
- It was the first year of an expanded Big 12 Conference, as Iowa State played three of the four newcomers, missing UCF.
Player Notables
- Salomé Prat snapped Mira Emma's three-year streak of leading the team in points, as the senior from France just edged out Emma with 15 points.
- Prat just missed cracking the single-season top 10 for goals in a season, falling one short of the tenth-best mark (8).
- Prat led the team in shots (33) and shooting percentage (min. five shots), placing 21.2% in the back of the net (7/33).
.@PratSalome's seven goals are the most by any Cyclone since 2014! 👏
— Iowa State Soccer (@cycloneSCR) October 16, 2023
🌪️⚽️🌪️ pic.twitter.com/uW4kM4xXft - Mira Emma led the team in assists for her fourth straight season, with four being a personal best.
- Defenders Chloe Broughton, Olivia Edwards and Hanna Reid led the team's field players in minutes played, with Broughton missing just 55 minutes of game time across an 18-match schedule.
- For the third-straight season, three Cyclones scored multiple goals on the year as Emma (5), Prat (7) and Abigail Miller (2) converted multiple times for ISU.
- Five players started every match for the Cyclones: Emma, Maddie Brant, Edwards, Broughton and Gillahan.
Record Book Check-In
Career
- Mira Emma wrapped a decorated career with the Cyclones, finding herself in multiple top 10 lists in the Cyclone record book.
- The most notable record for Mira was that she set the school benchmark for most games played in as she appeared in 83 matches.
- She started 76 of those matches – the fifth most in school history – only coming off the bench for seven contests.
- Emma finished with 45 career points, tying her for the seventh most in school history.
- Her 17 goals and five game-winning goals places her eighth all-time in their respective lists.
- Mira finished her career with 13 assists, placing her in a tie for fifth most in program history.
- She finished her career with 131 shots, the sixth most by any Cyclone.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
— Iowa State Soccer (@cycloneSCR) October 24, 2023
With tonight's start, @miraemma32 has officially played in more matches than any Cyclone. Congrats, Mira!
🌪️⚽️🌪️ pic.twitter.com/mTiR1QCqix - The most notable record for Mira was that she set the school benchmark for most games played in as she appeared in 83 matches.
Awards
Avery Gillahan
- 2x Big 12 Freshman of the Week (8/23 & 10/18)
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- Iowa State Farm Strong Team Representative
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- CSC Academic All-District Team
- Big 12 Student-Athlete of the Month (Oct. 2023)
For the second consecutive season, six Cyclones were named CSC Academic-All District 🤓📚
— Iowa State Soccer (@cycloneSCR) December 1, 2023
📰: https://t.co/C4wnaQspoC
🌪️⚽️🌪️ pic.twitter.com/h6h3adC303
Rankings
- Iowa State ranked 166 in the RPI after the season ended.
- The Cyclones were efficient with their shots, as they led the Big 12 in shot accuracy percentage (51%) and were 51st in the country in terms of putting shots on net.
- The Cyclones were fifth in the Big 12 in saves per game, averaging 4.06.
Players Mentioned
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