The ISU soccer team returned to the field on Tuesday night in Ames after three days off, defeating Northern Iowa 7-1 in its biggest win of the season with an overwhelming performance on offense.

The Cyclones (4-2) started racking up points right away with a long-range goal by junior Jessica Stewart in the fourth minute. Stewart finished the night with one goal and two assists.

“I feel phenomenal,” Stewart said after the game. “I feel good to come out of that game with a win. I looked good because everybody else played well. It was a team effort all around.”

The biggest offensive impact for the Cyclones came in the form of junior Jennifer Dominguez, who scored two of the team’s seven goals against the Panthers (3-4).

“I gave up effort,” Dominguez said. “My goals were scrappy and that is what we needed to put them under pressure.”

All of this came after two straight losses, including a disappointing performance against Iowa last Friday. The Cyclones lost that game at home 3-1.

“We did not have a game on Sunday, so we kind of mentally regrouped; we got our focus back and had a good training session yesterday,” Dominguez said. “We came out ready to play. We put the two losses behind us. We played with so much energy.”

ISU coach Wendy Dillinger credits the team’s many goals to a change in mentality on offense after the loss to Iowa.

“We told them that if we want to score we have to shoot,” Dillinger said. “Jessie came out of the gate right away and hit that shot and took a chance and it went in. That’s the biggest thing, we want to shoot.”

The Cyclones finished the night with 31 shots on goal, while the Panthers totaled 11. With Tuesday’s win, Iowa State is now 8-0 all-time against Northern Iowa.

“Obviously they are another in-state rival, there is always that feeling you want to beat everyone else in the state,” Stewart said. “You want to be the best in the state. I think that just comes out on the field.”

Now the Cyclones head to Minneapolis this weekend to take on De Paul on Friday and San Diego State on Sunday, Sept. 9.

“I feel awesome heading into this weekend,” Dillinger said. “There were a lot of things that we needed to address. A lot of people have been saying we look scared around the goal and we need to overcome that. I think today we definitely showed we can do that.”