The Cyclones head into the final stretch of a long set of road trips, starting conference play against Texas Tech Friday night and Colorado on Sunday.

Iowa State is looking to improve upon a weekend in which the team was unable to score a goal. The Cyclone’s main focus this weekend is improving their play in the opening minutes of the contest.

“One of my main concerns is us coming out fired up right out of the gate,” said head coach Wendy Dillnger. “We need to come out with a lot of energy and play dynamically from the get-go.”

The Cyclones had done a good job of starting off strong in the first part of the season before suffering a setback against Iowa and Drake.

The team is looking to continue what has been working for them all season, but knows that once conference play starts, it is a step up in the type of game from their recent non-conference contests.

“The speed and physicality of the Big 12 is different, but we just have to up our level of play,” said senior midfielder Adrianna O’Neill.

Iowa State looks to improve on finishing chances at the goal with extra work in practice.

“The attackers come out an hour before practice every Wednesday and work on finishing situations like we see in a game. We work on one-on-ones with the goalkeeper and then with a defender,” O’Neill said.

The Cyclone’s finishing troubles last weekend centered around not being confident enough in the box. Dillinger has stressed to her team this week to be confident and relaxed around the net and strike the ball with some force behind it.

“Everyone has to make sure they’re on the same page and know who you are playing it to,” said sophomore defender Emily Hejlik. “If you are playing it to Adri (O’Neill), you have to play the ball quickly because she’s very fast. It’s all about knowing what their strengths are.”

The Red Raiders (5-5-0) have scored more than once in nine out of their 10 games, led by freshmen Dawn Ward, who holds a team-leading seven goals.

“She’s great in possession and really comfortable around the net,” said Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone. “Hopefully we will be able to get her in positions where she can do some good things for us in the box.”

Iowa State is going to do their best to make it difficult for Ward to operate and create chances.

“We have to make sure we put pressure on her when she gets the ball and keep her from getting in behind us,” Dillinger said. “If we can do that, I think we’ll have success.”

The Red Raiders may have some surprises in store for the Cyclones when they head to Lubbock, Tex. Their unorthodox playing style consists of playing with two strikers, and two attacking midfielders. This aggressive offensive attack scheme makes it seem as though they have four forwards.

The Buffaloes, who knocked off Oklahoma State in their season opener, look to challenge the Cyclones with their strong team play. Colorado is a team that is efficient in moving the ball around quickly and creating opportunities for each other, something that Dillinger has tried to mirror with her team.

“It’s actually a pretty good matchup for us in terms of how we want to play,” Dillinger said.