The ISU wrestling team will head to Cedar Falls Saturday and face off against Northern Iowa for the second time in a week.

The first meeting of the year between the two teams came last weekend at the Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals. The Panthers narrowly won the match 22-21, slating their second victory in a row against Iowa State.

Iowa State slipped in the national rankings this week from the No. 4 spot to No. 7, but head coach Bobby Douglas said the intensity level inside the wrestling room could not be higher.

“The wrestlers have stayed positive and the staff is doing a good job getting their points across,” Douglas said. “There’s no problem with intensity, there’s no problem with desire, they’re salty — tempers are flaring.”

The biggest issue surrounding last weekend’s upset by Northern Iowa was Cyclone injuries, something Douglas’ team had been hoping to avoid this season.

“I think we will improve as a team as our injuries improve,” Douglas said. “Our main concern is our injuries. This is a wounded team. We hope that we’re dangerous, but we’re wounded.”

One factor which will play an important role in Saturday’s match will be Iowa State’s ability to fill a hole at the 125-pound weight class. The slot was left open during last weekend’s matches and resulted in a forfeit for Iowa State, giving a 6-0 lead to the Panthers and Pennsylvania.

Douglas hopes to have three Cyclone wrestlers back from injuries for the Northern Iowa match — redshirt sophomores Nate Gallick (141 pounds) and Grant Nakamura (125 pounds) and freshman Travis Paulson (157 pounds).

“Hopefully we’ll have everyone in our lineup,” said redshirt freshman Kurt Backes. “It’s a tough match, having three people out of your lineup, giving up six points off the bat.”

Douglas said although the team spirit is high, he hasn’t been able to be as physical as he’d like during practice because of the injuries.

“Our main concern is getting our people healthy. We’re practicing under some limited conditions,” Douglas said. “We’ve modified our practice according to our injuries. We haven’t been able to practice as hard as we’d like to, but we’re making progress.”

Backes said when a wrestler can’t start due to injuries, the team just has to put someone out there who will do the best job possible. Missing starters proved to be costly for Iowa State last weekend, but Backes said he believes the upcoming meeting between the two squads will have a different outcome.

“Hopefully this weekend we’ll have everybody healthy and we’ll go up there and have a good scrap,” Backes said.

Iowa State’s match against No. 19 Northern Iowa will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday in Cedar Falls.