The pressure is mounting for the Cyclones, who are looking to rebound after finishing 0-2 this past weekend; dropping a 1-0 decision to Oklahoma and then suffering a 3-1 loss to Baylor. Iowa State’s next tests are the Aggies from Texas A&M on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the ISU Soccer Complex.

The Aggies play a similar style that Baylor does, putting three defenders up front.

“They have very dynamic attackers,” coach Wendy Dillinger said. “They are all individually great one-on-one players and good finishers, so it’s going to be tough for us to neutralize their attack. Its going to be very important that we don’t let them get the ball and turn and run at us.”

While the Cyclones’ effort was part of the reason they came up short on Sunday against Baylor, there are other aspects they are looking to improve upon as well.

Iowa State will look to get their midfielders more involved on both sides of the ball and not let the opponent have as much time and space to dribble as Baylor did on Sunday. After Sunday’s loss, the Cyclones took a step back and set some goals for themselves for the remaining five games of the regular season.

“We didn’t just set goals,” Dillinger said. “We talked about how we are going to accomplish those goals with action. We talked about what we need to do to focus on moving forward these next five games.”

The Cyclones’ success also depends on a total team effort, something they didn’t show in their last contest.

“We weren’t battling for each other,” said senior goalkeeper Ann Gleason.  “We weren’t backing each other up and having accountability for our own positions or helping our teammates out with theirs either.”

The Aggies come in with a 3-1-1 record in conference play, are 9-4-1 overall, and ranked third in the Big 12. The Longhorns are 2-1-2 in conference and 6-6-2 overall. Iowa State will have to key in on the Aggies’ leading scorer — junior forward Whitney Hooper, who leads the team with seven goals on the season.  Junior midfielder Rachel Shipley is another key player for the Aggies, leading the team with seven assists on the season.

This weekend’s slate of games is the final home contests for the Cyclones; which means it will be the final weekend of the collegiate careers for the Cyclones’ seven seniors.

“We want to make it a good weekend,” Gleason said.  “It would be really nice to go out on a nice note at home.” 

Senior midfielder Lauren Fader may not realize the home performances are done until after the final whistle.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that this is our last home weekend,” Fader said. “It’s pretty surreal.”

This weekend is extra important for the Cyclones as these two games affect the Cyclones chances of playing in the Big 12 tournament in San Antonio, Texas.

This is especially heavy on the minds of the seniors.

“We got to win the games this weekend if we want to be playing in November and they know it,” Dillinger said. “That is what this weekend boils down to. We need to do well and come away with a couple wins for us to continue on once November rolls around.”