At the beginning of the season, Iowa State split the schedule into 10-game intervals in hopes of going 10–0 in each stretch.

“We set out a goal, but we didn’t quite get there,” said junior goalie Eric Hudson. “Losing to Lindenwood kind of put a damper on that. We are 8–2, though, so that’s second best.”

After sweeping Oklahoma, the No. 8 Cyclones will look to keep up their strong play against 12th-ranked Kent State. The sweep this past weekend will likely move the Cyclones up from their previous ranking of eighth, but they will find out how much that series meant on Friday when the rankings are released.

Coach Al Murdoch still isn’t convinced the team is where it needs to be.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the team’s production with only three guys scoring six goals on Friday,” Murdoch said. “When you have one guy score three goals, the opposing team is going to shadow them. That means that other guys in the line are going to have more open opportunities, so we need to take advantage of that.”

Iowa State’s opponent, Kent State, will not be taken lightly, though.

“They may not be ranked higher than us, but it’s still another game and we have to focus as much as we would any other game,” said freshman goalie Paul Karus.

Iowa State’s goaltending and defense have been solid this year. Last week against Oklahoma, after giving up three goals in the second period on Saturday night, both stepped up in the third period. Oklahoma had two shots on goal in the whole period, which kept the Cyclones in the game. All three goalies have shown they can play well and keep opposing teams from getting too far ahead.

“Coach just wants us to control our rebounds, be confident in the net and be consistent,” Hudson said.

Friday’s game marks the start of the Cyclones’ second set of 10 games, and they hope they can go 10–0 this time around.

Ranked teams Kent State and Illinois stand in the way in the next two series.

“It has to be a team effort when we play a team like Kent State,” Hudson said. “We just want the whole lineup to be healthy. If we are, we should take two games from them.”