One week into conference play, the challenges won’t get any easier for the ISU women’s soccer team.

Another pivotal weekend awaits the Cyclones (6-3-2, 1-1 Big 12), as nationally ranked Missouri and defending Big 12 champion Kansas represent two of the toughest tests to date for Iowa State.

The Cyclones play the Tigers (6-3-1, 1-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. and line up against the Jayhawks (5-4-1, 1-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

“Kansas and Missouri are both very strong teams, both in our conference and on the national level,” said coach Rebecca Hornbacher. “They have both been to the NCAA tournament numerous times and have been ranked.

“But we aren’t using that as something that will detour us. More or less, we just need to focus on putting together a complete game and coming out and competing, and coming back to defend our home turf.”

After roughing up Texas Tech, 6-2, on Sept. 23, Iowa State suffered a 4-0 loss to Colorado, its worst setback of the season.

Senior Amy Flores said she hopes the game served as a wake-up call.

“[Colorado] played well and we didn’t step up to the challenge,” Flores said.

“It opened our eyes. We have to show up for every game.”

It could be tempting to look forward to Sunday’s match up against Kansas, a team that beat the Cyclones twice last year, including in the Big 12 tournament.

“We have to focus on Missouri right now and then take Kansas on Sunday,” Flores said. “All of our focus has to be on [Friday]. They are a good team and we will have to come to play. Hopefully, the stands will be packed.”

Friday marks the Cyclones’ Big 12 conference home opener, and Iowa State hasn’t beaten a ranked team in almost two years – Missouri is ranked 29th nationally. The Cyclones have an all-time record of 2-24-1 against ranked teams, their last win coming against Oklahoma State in 2003.

“There are a lot of strong teams in this conference,” Hornbacher said.

“We just need to make sure our team is prepared and that we take care of those little things.”

Hornbacher said she isn’t worried about the team’s most recent performance.

The loss to Colorado was the first in the Cyclones’ last seven games.

“Colorado had a great team. It was something we need to learn from, but we are very resilient,” she said.

“We had a great run; Colorado was a bump in the road. We have a lot of big games in front of us.”

Captain Deb Benakis said she is anxious to get back on the field.

“We are refocused and looking toward Missouri,” Benakis said. “We worked hard on fixing the things that we needed to in practice. We are excited to get another chance to get on the field and play another game.”

Also looking to get back on the field is Meghan Smith. The freshman forward leads the team in assists, but hasn’t played since having minor surgery on an MCL tear before the Drake Bulldog Bash.