In a town that has only one movie theatre that shows one movie and the nearest mall is 40 miles away, freshman midfielder Jordan Wagner turned soccer into something more than a way to pass the time.

The Geneseo, Ill., native played for Geneseo High School her freshman year and then joined the Ankeny Attack club team for her sophomore and junior years of high school, due to an Illinois high school athletic rule that prohibits athletes from playing for a club team and their high school team in the same season. This required making the three-hour trip from Geneseo to Ankeny two or three times a week.

Wagner’s parents didn’t want her to drive herself, fearing she would fall asleep at the wheel from the hours spent keeping up with classes during the week. Wagner, therefore, became very acquainted with the backseat of her parent’s Chevrolet Impala.

“My parents wouldn’t let me drive because I would always sleep and do my homework in the car, so they were afraid I would be too tired, so I just slept and did my homework basically,” Wagner said.

Head coach Wendy Dillinger said that spoke volumes about her dedication to the game.

“It’s huge,” Dillinger said. “Its very time consuming, but her dedication to the game and wanting to play in a highly competitive environment shows in her play. She plays very hard, crafty, and she takes chances and really wants to make a difference, and she has.”

Wagner has played an important part in the Cyclones’ success this season with her innate instincts around the ball and creative ability.

“She moves off the ball before it is played; she actually dictates how we attack by her running,” Dillinger said. “She’ll make runs behind the defense or runs in the gaps or check back quickly before the ball is actually played to kind of dictate that that’s where we’re going to play the ball next.”

Wagner first started looking at Iowa State’s program at an Attack practice, where former ISU player Amanda Hornbacher was helping out and fed Wagner’s name to the Attack coach.

While club soccer is essential to getting noticed by college coaches, Wagner has always enjoyed the game of soccer for the bonds formed along the way.

“A lot of it has to do with a lot of the friends you make along the way because so many of my friends have been made through sports and through soccer,” Wagner said. “Even now it is such a relief to have some place to go to relieve the stress from sitting in class where you get to run around instead of just sitting there. I can’t imagine going home from class and having nothing to do anymore.”

Before coming to Iowa State, Wagner had been used to playing in front of 100 to 200 people for her games with Geneseo and the Attack, so she was anxious to get in front of the much larger crowds that pack the ISU soccer complex on Friday nights.

“It was exciting,” Wagner said. “You always want to play better in front of larger crowds because you want to please people that come to see you play well and not to watch you lose. It makes you want to play harder. I think that was the biggest difference, having so many people cheering for you. I liked it.”

While the crowds at the soccer games took some getting used to, there weren’t many adjustments to be made off the field with the culture in Ames. Wagner has an aunt that lives in Ames, and her club soccer days with the Attack 20 miles away helped make Ames a second home for her.

Another important factor in Wagner choosing Iowa State is the teammates with whom she currently plays. During one of her unofficial visits, she had an opportunity to stay with the girls and watch them play, which helped Wagner build a rapport with them, and she came away with a positive impression of the program.

Wagner’s key to continuing her strong start for the Cyclones is going to come down to her composure, since she already has the skills and work ethic to flourish at this level.

“She always works hard,” Dillinger said. “She provides a lot of spark for us in our attack and is really good at taking players on, which really disrupts other team’s back lines, which goes a long way toward us getting shots off.”

Its still going to take some time for Wagner to fully adjust to the level of competition where the defenses close in on her a lot faster and force her to make quicker decisions, but when she adjusts, she has the potential to really help the Cyclones.

“She has great speed and all the intangibles to do some good things for us,” Dillinger said. “When she puts all her skills together and learns to take a deep breath and relax on her chances around the net, she’s definitely going to tear it up.”