The ISU soccer team will take a break from conference play this weekend to play host to Drake on Sunday afternoon in Ames.

The Cyclones (9-7, 1-4 Big 12) are coming off a 3-2 loss to West Virginia last Sunday and are 2-4 in their last six games.

Iowa State and Drake (11-3-1, 2-0-1 Missouri Valley) have met eight times since 2003, with the Cyclones leading the all-time series 3-2-3. The two teams met in Des Moines last season, with the Cyclones prevailing by a final score of 2-0.

“We’ve played them every year I’ve been here,” said ISU senior Kelsey Calvert. “It’s always a hard game. We’ve never taken them lightly. I’m really looking forward to playing them, especially at home.”

The Bulldogs have had frequent success this season, currently sitting atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings and ranking second in the conference in goals per game with 1.53.

DU sophomore Ashlie Stokes has netted six goals this season, second-best in the MVC.

“They have some pretty fast players who attack quickly,” said ISU coach Wendy Dillinger. “If you fall asleep, if you don’t pay attention, they’ll sneak a couple in on you.”

The Cyclones are used to having both Friday and Sunday games every weekend. Having only a Sunday game this weekend is going to be a nice change of pace for the team.

The coaches gave the players both Thursday and Friday off, which will give them plenty of time to recuperate from this week’s training before taking the field against the Bulldogs.

“We’ve got people that are tired; we have people that play full 90s,” Calvert said. “It’ll be a great opportunity to just get off their feet, rest a little bit and then be ready to go on Sunday.”

Sunday’s game will be the Cyclones’ third game ever at the new Cyclone Sports Complex. The team got to break in the facility last weekend against TCU and West Virginia.

The players are still taking time to familiarize themselves with the new playing surface, but everyone is ecstatic about what the new complex provides.

“The turf is really great for our style of play,” said ISU junior Susie Potterveld. “I think it keeps the ball on the ground; it’s a lot quicker and faster, so we had to adjust to that. I think getting to practice out there beforehand definitely helped. It was just a really cool environment.”

Sunday’s kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames.