Already in third place in the Big 12, the ISU women’s soccer team wants to continue shaking up the conference this weekend in Texas.

Two road wins would not only eclipse last year’s total, but another upset would continue to push the Cyclones (7-3-3, 2-1-1 Big 12) up the standings.

In its last game, Iowa State upended one of last year’s co-Big 12 champions, Kansas. Friday night, the Cyclones will take on the other half of last year’s championship, Texas A&M (8-2-1, 2-1-0), in College Station, Texas. On Sunday, Baylor (2-8-1, 0-3) will try to defend its home turf against Iowa State.

Sophomore Erin Witte and the Cyclones know the task they have in front of them. In the preseason, the Aggies were picked by Big 12 coaches to again win the conference title, had three players selected to the all-conference team and are currently ranked 19th in the nation.

Conversely, Iowa State was picked to finish ninth in the Big 12, but only trails Oklahoma and Nebraska in the standings.

“We expect a lot out of ourselves, and personally, this is definitely our biggest game,” Witte said. “We want to come out strong and show them what we can do.

“Definitely, we have been underestimated in the preseason and in the conference. But we are on roll right now, so we need to keep that up.”

After beating Iowa State 1-0 in Ames last year, Texas A&M isn’t looking past the Cyclones.

“Iowa State is a very tough team to play,” said A&M coach G. Guerrieri. “We have had major battles with them the last couple of times we’ve played. And because they are coming off such a good weekend where they beat Kansas 3-1, I’m sure they’ll be playing with extra confidence and vigor this Friday night.”

Aggie forward Melissa Garey leads the conference in goals, averaging one a game with 11 already this season. Forward Ashlee Pistorius was a pre-season all-conference selection, along with goalie Kati Jo Spisak and midfielder Carrie Berend.

“They have extremely good team speed,” said ISU Soccer Coach Rebecca Hornbacher. “They have two forwards in Melissa Garey and Ashlee Pistorius that are playing extremely well right now, and they are one of the strongest teams in the conference. It will be a battle.”

Iowa State needs to continue the excellent defense they have played so far, Hornbacher said. The team has outscored its opponents this season at 19-14, but has been outshot 153-169. Opposing shot percentage is .083.

“We are really excited to go down there and see what we can do,” said team captain Deb Benakis. “It’s fun to play at their home field, with their fans all excited. The start of the conference has been going really well, which helps a lot with confidence. We are playing better and better, which makes it a lot of fun.”

The Cyclones aren’t looking past Baylor. It took two overtimes to win against the Bears last year, and in 2003, the matchup was settled in a tie.

“We play two very talented teams this weekend,” Hornbacher said. “We have to work extra hard as a team and continue to believe in what we are doing. We might have 10 chances to score or we might have one, but we have to take advantage. “

– Texas A&M media relations contributed to this article