An undefeated spring and a disappointing fall will be all the motivation the ISU women’s soccer team needs for the upcoming season.

After qualifying for the NCAA Tournament two years ago, the Cyclones are coming off of a season that left them searching for answers and results. That young Cyclone team has now had an off-season and a spring exhibition season to hone its skills and come together as a team.

“Immediately after the season we wanted to focus on what we needed to do to prepare our team,” said coach Rebecca Hornbacher. “We needed to be in the best soccer shape, as far as playing well together, and condition and getting stronger and getting fitter. All those things take place during the off-season.”

The off-season has given an opportunity for the Cyclones, not only as a team, but also for the younger players to get accustomed to playing Division I soccer at a high-intensity level. The spring season gave the team a chance to mature together and work well with each other.

“We didn’t have a very good fall, so we all sat down as a team and put goals together,” said captain Brittanie Waddell. “One of our main goals was to improve on all things that we really didn’t do all that well, which we did a very good job on this spring.”

Over the summer, some players stay in Ames and work with the ISU strength and conditioning staff, which can prove to be very beneficial and keeps the players ready to go as soon as the fall season is under way.

While the older players stay on campus over the summer, the younger players go home and play with their club teams or semiprofessional teams, and by doing so the players remain at the top of their game and remain in soccer shape and ready to go as the season starts in the fall.

The goal for the upcoming season is a simple one for the Cyclones.

“Our goal, very plain and simple, is to make it back to the NCAA Tournament and to be in competitive on a national level and to put ourselves in a situation where we will get a bid to the NCAA Tournament,” Hornbacher said. “We also want to be more competitive in our conference. We weren’t happy with how we finished up last year. We want to show we are one of the top teams in our conference.”

The ISU soccer team hosts its home games at the ISU Soccer Complex, directly east of the Lied Recreation Athletic Center. The home preseason opener is set for Aug. 19 against the Creighton Jays with the regular season opener Sept. 2 against Oakland in Ames.