After losing to conference foes No. 2 Oklahoma State and Baylor at home last weekend, the ISU soccer team will try to be more aggressive in its offensive game plan this weekend when it takes on Oklahoma and Southeast Missouri State on the road.

The Cyclones (6-7-1, 0-4 Big 12) have been struggling to start their games with a strong offense. Coach Wendy Dillinger mentioned that the team will need to capitalize on the opportunities it has near the goal and finish off corner kicks with a score.

“We’re still a young team and I told them that can’t be a factor anymore,” Dillinger said. “We have to step up and perform and not be so inconsistent. We need to be focused and learn from our mistakes last weekend and in Texas. We just need to score.”

Sophomore defender Jessica Stewart said that a key for success moving forward will be to limit the amount of time the Cyclone defense possesses the ball.

“The more you can keep the ball in their part of the field, the less of a chance they have of scoring,” Stewart said. “If we can be more successful at that, [the defense] is going to be able to stay mentally tougher longer if we aren’t having to defend the entire time.”

Iowa State’s first opponent of the weekend is Oklahoma. The Sooners (5-9 0-3) enter the game struggling early offensively and winless in the Big 12. For the Cyclones to advance to the Big 12 tournament, they will have to defeat Oklahoma.

“We are going to change a little bit in terms of what we are looking to do against them to get the offense going early,” Dillinger said.

On Sunday, Iowa State will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to take on Southeast Missouri State in the last nonconference match of the season. The two teams played in an exhibition game earlier this season with Iowa State winning 5-0.

“It’s always hard to come out and play a team again [in the same season], especially one that we have beaten,” Stewart said. “So we are going to need to stay mentally focused for Friday’s game as well as Sunday’s.”

The start of the Cyclones’ game against Oklahoma is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday in Norman, Okla. The game against Southeast Missouri State is slated to start at 1 p.m. in Cape Girardeau, Mo.