With 12 returning players and nine newcomers, the Iowa State women’s soccer team has big expectations for the 2003 season.

Head coach Rebecca Hornbacher is telling her players to “think the unthinkable” for the upcoming season.

“I feel very strongly that we have a lot of players that have the vision that they want to be champions and they want to be able to put themselves in a position that they can fight for a Big 12 championship,” Hornbacher said. “They have to take themselves out of their comfort zones and realize that if they put themselves day-in and day-out and expect to win, then I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

The Cyclones finished 7-11-1 overall and were tied for seventh in the Big 12 conference last season with a 4-6 record. They finished the season with a 4-1 defeat to Texas in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament. This year, Big 12 coaches picked Iowa State to finish ninth out of the league’s 11 teams.

Senior goalkeeper Beth Chapman, who started 15 games last season, said the team likes being the underdog going into the 2003 season.

“The preseason poll just came out and they have us ranked pretty low, so we’re looking forward to coming out and showing them,” Chapman said. “We’ve got a lot of potential with our new players and the returners from the spring season.”

Coming back to lead the Cyclones’ offensive attack is Kristina Baumann. As a freshman, Baumann led the team in goals with seven and finished with 17 points.

“With a bunch of new players, we’re going to keep on building with this program,” Baumann said. “We’re going to take one game at a time. We want to get over the .500 mark.”

The Cyclones will also rely up front on sophomores Deb Benakis and Amy Flores. Benakis, a midfielder, finish last season with four goals and 10 points while Flores, a forward, tallied three goals for Iowa State.

This spring, the Cyclones went 3-1-1 in five games and also dominated a seven-on-seven tournament in Iowa City, outscoring their opponents 40-16. They beat Northern Iowa, Drake and Creighton, tied Marquette and lost to Notre Dame.

Hornbacher said the team feels confident of their work ethic after their spring success.

“They pulled together in the spring season. They set the tone for their work ethic with their attitude,” Hornbacher said. “The chemistry right now is fantastic. With the addition of nine new players, I think right now we have a lot of people that can impact our returning starters that are coming in, and we’re going to be a lot better then we were last year.”

Hornbacher said she is looking forward to the defensive leadership of Chapman and senior defenders Lindsey Lees and Arlene Samuel.

“Obviously, we’re looking at three players who are very critical to being the backbone of our defense,” Hornbacher said. “We’ve got a strong group of seniors coming back and I think with them seeing so many changes with this program and being in this for the second year in a row, their leadership is going be critical.

Hornbacher said there are plenty of opportunities left for players on the team to get a starting position.

“There are a lot of players right now that are fighting and scraping for spots on the field … we’re going to have a lot more people that are going to come in and play a role,” Hornbacher said. “I think there are a lot of newcomers that are also showing very well.”

Hornbacher also said she’s impressed with true freshman Christine Beatty and redshirt freshman Kate Kirwan.

“I think Christine Beatty is showing very strong as a defender, as she is really looking like she could be a potential starter for us in the back this year,” Hornbacher said. “She’s very good in the air, very solid and makes good decisions.

“Kate is coming off an ACL injury,” Hornbacher added. “She had a fantastic spring season for us so we’re looking forward to her coming in and making some solid contributions.”

Iowa State won’t play Iowa this season, but Hornbacher said she likes the competition already in the Big 12 conference schedule.

“We have a great schedule. Obviously being in the Big 12 Conference, we’re setting ourselves up against playing against top 20 programs,” she said.

“At least three or four of the teams in our conference are going to be ranked throughout the season.”

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranked Texas A&M sixth in the country, Texas ninth and Nebraska 12th in their preseason poll released Aug. 18.

ISU opens their season on Friday at Arizona. The first home game is scheduled for Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. against DePaul at the ISU Soccer Complex.