The ISU soccer team heads south this weekend to kick off its Big 12 conference schedule against Texas A&M and Texas.

Last season, the Cyclones (6-3-1) lost both matches against the Aggies (6-4, 1-0 Big 12) and Longhorns (6-2). However, coach Wendy Dillinger believes they have what it takes to flip those results this year.

“We’ve got to score that early goal if we get a chance and take advantage of set pieces and corner kicks, which is something we’ve done better this year,” Dillinger said. “I think if we can score a goal on a set piece or corner during the game, that’s definitely going to give us some momentum.”

Iowa State won its first conference match last season against Kansas, but then went on to lose its next seven before winning the final two. Sophomore forward Jennifer Dominguez said getting off to a strong start is key.

“We just have to take advantage of our chances, and once we’re given the opportunity, we have to finish them,” she said.

The first game is Friday night at 6:30 against Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. A win against the Aggies last year slipped through Iowa State’s grips in overtime.

If this year’s contest goes into extra frames again, Dominguez said, the Cyclones will have to finish.

“We have to prepare and go out in practice and know we have to finish a full 90 minutes,” Dominguez said. “If it comes to it and we have to finish a full 110 minutes, then we’ll have to do that.”

Texas A&M enters the game after a 13-1 beatdown against Fordham, and its 39 goals this season are a conference-best. However, the Aggies have also allowed 19 goals this season to lead the conference, and Dillinger said the Cyclones plan to exploit that statistic.

“Defensively, we really need to focus on our outside backs, making sure they are doing a good job one-on-one, forcing them to stay wide and then when they go to serve the ball, block the service,” Dillinger said. “The thing we can’t do is let them stand us up and then cut inside.

“That’s the big thing is just once they do get the ball to their forward line, put them under pressure, don’t let them turn and run at us and force them one way.”

After their game against the Aggies, the Cyclones travel to Austin, Texas, to face the Longhorns Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

At press time, the Cyclones hadn’t begun to prepare for Texas yet, but Dillinger said their game plan wouldn’t be much different.

The Longhorns scored on a header in the final five minutes of the match against the Cyclones last season, with the free kick coming off the foot of forward Kylie Doniak.

Doniak leads the team with five goals this season, and ISU junior co-captain Megan Long said they’ll definitely pay attention to her.

“We’ve just got to keep an eye on her, make sure she’s marked tight at all times,” Long said. “We defend anyone as we would just by having that special eye out for those people who produce and put points on the board, so [we’ve] just got to keep an eye out.”

After this weekend’s games, the Cyclones return to the ISU Soccer Complex for a pair of home games against Oklahoma State and Baylor as they continue their Big 12 Conference season.