The ISU soccer team takes to the road this weekend for its first away games of the Big 12 season, facing off against Oklahoma State on Friday and Texas Tech on Sunday.

The Cyclones (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) played two games in Ames last weekend, falling to Texas 4-0 in the conference opener on Friday before bouncing back to the tune of a 7-0 victory against South Dakota on Sunday.

“Friday was a big disappointment, obviously, but it was a learning experience,” said sophomore Ashley Johnson, who recorded one goal and three assists in Sunday’s victory. “It was our first game of the Big 12, so we can only look forward from there. Sunday was a lot better. We still have a bit of work to do, but Sunday got our minds right again.”

The Cyclones will try to carry the momentum and confidence from Sunday’s victory into this weekend’s tough road games.

Oklahoma State (9-3, 0-2 Big 12) began its season on a six-game winning streak, but lost both of its games game last weekend at Kansas and West Virginia.

The Cyclones and Cowgirls are tied 7-7-2 all-time against each other. Oklahoma State took last year’s meeting by a final score of 1-0.

“They’ve always been very good,” said coach Wendy Dillinger. “They’re talented, they have a lot of experience, and they also have a tradition of success in that program, so I think we’re playing against that as much as we’re playing against anything.”

Texas Tech (8-3, 0-1 Big 12) also dropped its first game of the Big 12 schedule last weekend at West Virginia.

The Cyclones have had success against the Red Raiders in the past, leading the all-time series by an 11-5 margin, including a 1-0 double-overtime victory last October.

“That’s my home state, so it’s going to be a lot of emotion on the line as well for me,” said junior Brittany Morgan, who hails from Mesquite, Texas, about 10 miles east of Dallas. “We have to prove to these teams that we are able to be in the Big 12 tournament, since we haven’t been back in quite a while. So I think this will definitely be the start of who we are.”

This weekend’s games are slated to begin at 7 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma State and at 1 p.m. Sunday at Texas Tech.