Throughout the early part of the season, it would appear that the ISU soccer team has adopted the mantra of “offense wins games, but defense wins championships.”

First year head coach Tony Minatta was mainly a defensive player during his playing days and has emphasized the defensive aspect of the game to his team.

“You win the game by not letting anybody score and by putting the ball in the back of the net,” Minatta said. “If we don’t let them score, they can’t win.”

Coming into the season, Minatta said the back line of defenders was one of the team’s biggest strengths. In the last few games, the defense has proven that to be true by shutting out two of its last three opponents.

The defense doesn’t usually get many chances at putting the ball in the back of the net, but Madi Ott and Kourtney Camy, two of Iowa State’s main defenders, both said they get more satisfaction out of recording shutouts than they would scoring goals.

“I think that getting shutouts and defense is a big part of the game,” Ott said. “Obviously if they don’t score, they can’t win. I think we all get satisfaction in trying to prevent goals every time.”

Under Minatta, the defense has adopted a new defensive mentality. Camy, Ott and the rest of the ISU defense has made it personal when it comes to defending the opposing team.

“I think their mentality is they take it personal if someone scores on them,” Minatta said. “They take it personal to ensure that they don’t allow the big-time forward from the other team to be able to score. It’s a goal of theirs to not let anybody score on them”

Along with that mentality comes the toughness with which the back line players play. Playing tough and physical is a part of the game that both Ott and Camy said they especially enjoy.

“I’m a pretty aggressive player,” Camy said. “I like tackling hard and I like the strength part of the game.”

While goals cause obvious momentum swings in a game, a hard tackle or well-timed tackle can also help swing the momentum for the team.

The ability of Camy, Ott and other ISU defenders to play physical can provide an energy boost for the team.

“I really enjoy the physical aspect of playing defense,” Ott said. “I think Kourtney [Camy] and I kind of thrive off of it. It gives us a lot of energy if you win a big tackle and boosts the team as well.”

The ISU defense will have to continue their high level of play as they head into the Big 12 Conference schedule. The Cyclones’ final two nonconference games will be played this weekend against Drake and South Dakota State before kicking off the Big 12 slate against Oklahoma State on Sept. 26.