At the end of the weekend, the ISU soccer team will have finished half of the Big 12 season, either keeping the pace with the rest of the conference or falling out of its tie for third.

The Cyclones (6-7, 2-1 Big 12) want to solidify a spot in the top of the conference, and will have to beat No. 17 Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to do so.

Iowa State plays the Cowgirls (9-2-1, 4-1) on Friday night in Stillwater, Okla., before facing the Sooners (3-8-1, 0-4-1) on Sunday afternoon in Norman, Okla. Whether it is talent or desperation they are facing, junior defender Beth Passman said the Cyclones will have to bring their best on the road trip.

“We have to play strong all weekend,” Passman said. “We are playing two very good teams. Oklahoma State is doing real well in the conference, and Oklahoma really needs these wins. But we need them, too.”

To have a shot at a weekend sweep, the Cyclones will need an improved offensive showing and strong defensive effort. They scored only one goal last weekend and face a stingy Sooner defense.

Oklahoma State has given up just eight goals this season, three of those coming in a loss to Big 12 frontrunner Texas A&M.

Iowa State is on the other end of that statistic, leading the conference in goals allowed with 29, a number skewed by a blowout loss to top-ranked Notre Dame. Goalie Ann Gleason leads the Big 12 in saves with 71.

Passman said the Cyclones have brought home two Big 12 wins, but need to put together two complete games.

“There is not a game in the rest of the season that we can’t win,” Passman said. “And it’s definitely reassuring to know that. But also there isn’t a game that we can’t lose, so we really have to be focused, we really have to be at the top of our game.”

Coach Rebecca Hornbacher said the team has had a good week of practice, and is hoping to see the proper results from this weekend’s competition.

“This is a business trip for us,” Hornbacher said. “We need to go down there and take care of business. Our focus needs to be to better ourselves in the standings.”

Hornbacher said the team will have to adjust to two different styles of play between Friday and Sunday.

“[Oklahoma State] has some very dangerous players; they are going to go right at you. They are physical, and they play different formation and a different style of play than Oklahoma,” Hornbacher said. “Oklahoma is an extremely possession-oriented team, very methodical in their approach to taking advantage of their opportunities that they try to create. They slow the pace down a little bit, but they are very good at what they do.”

At this point of the season, wins and loses begin to increase in their importance in the conference race.

“Basically, we have to step up for both games and keep our focus,” said junior Stephanie Kaphingst. “Every game counts. If we want to make this postseason, we need to keep our focus, because every game counts at this point . We can’t make some mistakes that we could at the beginning of the season.”