The ISU soccer team will look to continue its fast start in the city of lights this weekend at the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas.

The Cyclones are off to a hot start, going 3-0-1 before Sunday’s loss to the Dayton Flyers in overtime at the Gopher Invitational. The 3-0-1 start is the best start in team history. Senior Brittanie Waddell attributed the fast start to all the hard work in practices.

“After going through preseason, we worked really hard,” Waddell said. “We looked good and were excited to see how the season would start and ended up doing really well. We’re excited and will carry the momentum through the weekend.”

The Rebel Classic will prove to be the final test before Big 12 play starts with Oklahoma State next week, but it will be no easy test. The Cyclones will tackle two teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year: Nevada and UNLV.

The tournament will also give the Cyclones their first road test against a team on their home field outside the state of Iowa, something junior forward Leslie Hill said will make them more comfortable and stronger on Iowa State’s home field.

“It’s really important to get a good result this weekend,” Hill said. “If you can play well away you can play well anywhere.”

Playing quality opponents early is something that can greatly benefit a team. The Big 12 is one of the most physical conferences in the country, and playing teams like Nevada and UNLV will prepare the Cyclones for the rigors of the conference season.

“Playing tough teams early is important,” Hill said. “It sets us up for the teams we are going to play in bracket and shows us what last year’s tournaments were like. So we get see how we measure up against good teams.”

Playing tough teams early in the season also adds to the Cyclones’ strength of schedule, something that is taken into factor when the tournament committee selects teams at the end of the season.

“Our strength of schedule is going to prepare us for conference play,” coach Rebecca Hornbacher said. “It helps make our strength of schedule better when things are getting looked at for the bigger picture, which is the NCAA Tournament.”

Hornbacher wants her squad to leave Vegas with two more victories, but she will also be looking for some little things that will make the team better when conference season starts up.

“Execution – there has been times where we have been very sharp technically but we weren’t doing what we needed to in making the right runs or staying and tying things together,” Hornbacher said. “There have been times where we have had the right ideas but we weren’t sharp, our touch was off with the ball.

“We need to bring the two together and become a polished team . and once we do that, I think we are going to be extremely dangerous.”