Previewing the 2024 Season with Coach Fannon

AMES, Iowa – The 2024-25 Iowa State athletics calendar starts this week with the Cyclone soccer program, headed coach Matt Fannon. ISU will host Western Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Cyclone Soccer Complex.

Coach Fannon, who enters his fifth year at the helm of the program, is admittedly bullish on this year's team, despite the loss in production from a year ago. The Cyclones, who tied their highest win total since 2016, are looking to build off last year's strong finish.

Coach Fannon's 2024 squad has a plethora of different faces, with seven incoming players and a pair of new coaches on the sideline. The team will look to adapt a new playstyle to the players while balancing a longer conference schedule and a school-record 12 home games.

Assessing the Roster
The Cyclones will look to replace ten members from last year's roster, and that begins with the incoming transfer class. Fannon believes that the talented quintet should be immediate contributors. "The newcomers have the tactical acumen to be able to do what we want to do and will do a good job at keeping the ball," says Fannon.

Though not one-to-one replacements, ISU will need to replicate Mira Emma and Salomé Prat's production. Emma, a Cyclone legend, will be replaced in the midfield with Weber State transfer Yira Yoggerst and Michigan Tech newcomer Seulgi Lee as well as a few holdovers from last season.

Salomé, though, is a tougher player to supplement. "Replacing her goals and offensive production is definitely the question," says Fannon. The team is hoping that another Weber State transfer, Morgan Furmaniak, can shoulder the load. Though they're "completely different players with completely different playstyles," the staff is confident that there won't be a drastic falloff.

A solid core of contributors from last year return, as two-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week Avery Gillahan is back along with three players who tallied over 1,000 minutes of action in 2023 (Olivia Edwards, Lauren Hernandez, Chloe Broughton). In total, 19 players returned from last season, and most competed in the spring schedule, making cases for themselves.

Assessing the Staff
On the bench, Kathleen Duwve returns for her second season as an assistant coach, as she helps train the goalkeepers. Jeff Parker joins the team as the second assistant coach, as he just finished a 24-year stint as head coach of Stevens Institute of Technology. Bulut Ozturk rounds out the coaching staff as the Soccer Development Coordinator after spending the last four years as the head coach of Michigan Tech.

The experience the new coaches bring will be a big boost for the Cyclones. Both being seasoned head coaches will help Iowa State's style of play transition as the team bids farewell to some influential players this past season. "The level of experience on our staff is really exciting," says Fannon.

Adapting Playstyle
"There's going to be some tweaks in the way we play," says Fannon. He mentions that, though short on time, he and the staff have had players trying things they haven't done before in the preseason. The staff is focused on getting its players to learn those roles as the season creeps into view.

Fannon mentions the team is looking to fluctuate between a 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3, depending on what the matches bring about. "We want to be on the ball. We want to control the game," says Fannon. He emphasizes the importance of possession for this year's squad, saying it'll be a key to the team's success.

Playing at Home
The 2024 squad will play 12 home matches, tied for the most in school history. "We have to make home a fortress," says Fannon. Taking care of business in front of the home crowd would make the 2024 team's end goal, a postseason berth, much more attainable.

On the flip side, the Cyclones play just seven road games. Two of those road games are against the only ranked teams in the Big 12, as the team heads to both No. 3 BYU and No. 8 Texas Tech. "Those are places we have to be ready for," says Fannon. He mentions that both Utah and Kansas will also be exciting challenges and reiterates the importance of defending home field.

League Newcomers
In correlation with the schedule talk, Fannon mentions the talent that was added to the league in realignment. "The new schools are excellent soccer teams," he says. "Our jobs certainly did not get any easier." The dogfight of an 11-game conference schedule will be what determines if ISU makes it to Kansas City this postseason. Of the four newcomers, Iowa State plays Utah and Colorado.

Players Mentioned

Chloe Broughton

Olivia Edwards

Mira Emma

Morgan Furmaniak

Avery Gillahan

Lauren Hernandez

Seulgi Lee

Salomé Prat

Yira Yoggerst

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics