A look back at the Cyclones’ 5–12–2 record from last season shows that the team needs to make some improvements, but a look at the team’s 2009 roster leaves plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

What stands out the most is that 11 of the 26 players on the roster are freshmen, making the Cyclones one of the youngest teams in the Big 12 Conference.

Head coach Wendy Dillinger feels the youth could actually help the team.

“I think we have more depth coming off the bench this year, and I see a lot of those players seeing significant playing time,” Dillinger said. “The size of the freshmen class we have is going to make a difference.”

Only three freshmen played in the season opener against Creighton, but Dillinger anticipates increasing that number as the season continues.

“As we get going, they start to get a little bit more comfortable and start showing a little bit more on the field,” she said. “I anticipate that we will use that class a little bit more.”

Dillinger also mentioned she plans on using freshman defender Amanda Mayberry, an Ames native, as well as freshman forward Amanda Cacciatore, significantly in the game plan as the season continues.

Iowa State is also looking to be more physical this season, something Dillinger noticed they improved on in the team’s opener.

“One focus we had was being fitter, stronger, more physically prepared, which we’ve done,” Dillinger said.

The Cyclones will continue to emphasize combination play in their attacks and getting ahead of the defense early. Iowa State hopes this will lead to more shots on goal — only Baylor and Oklahoma had fewer attempts on goal last season. The 257 shots on goal over the 19 games played in 2008 equals out to about 14 shots per game.

“We need to work on playing more as a unit, both offensively and defensively,” said junior midfielder Jordan Bishop. “That will hopefully lead to us finishing on more of our chances around the net.”

Bishop also feels that being more aggressive with their chances in the box is something upon which the team is looking to improve.

Consistency is something the Cyclones struggled with last season and will again be one of the bigger tasks they face this year.

“Playing consistently is going to be the biggest challenge for us this season,” said senior goalkeeper Ann Gleason. “Playing together as a unit on a game-to-game basis is something that we are going to really concentrate on.”

Gleason, who has been named to the 2009 Preseason All-Big 12 team, is another bright spot. She will provide leadership and experience to the Cyclones’ young lineup. She already holds goalie records at Iowa State for most minutes in goal, total saves, shutouts and goals against average; with one more win, she will add the record for all-time wins in goal to her resume.

“She is very experienced,” Dillinger said. “ I believe she has started pretty much her whole time here. She knows what to expect playing in the Big 12 Conference; she knows what level of competition she is going to see. She brings a wealth of experience with those minutes at this level. She is a seasoned veteran.”

Gleason and the rest of the team set aside some preseason goals, which included increasing the number of shutouts from last year’s six — two of which were 0–0 stalemates. The Cyclones got off to a decent start on that with their 0–0 decision against Creighton in the season opener.

To do this, the Cyclones are going to try to tighten up their defense even more.

“We’re just going to be more solid on the defensive half of the field,” Dillinger said. “We have to not let teams get into our end uncontested and get shots off as consistently as they did last year.”

Iowa State is coming off a season in which they finished ninth in almost every statistical category. They finished 10th in goals against average (1.99) and total goals allowed.