After starting the season with three straight victories, the ISU women’s soccer team has struggled, losing three of its last four games. Coming off a 1-1 tie against Fairfield, the Cyclones look ahead to their Big 12 Conference opener in College Station, Texas, against the Texas A&M Aggies.

Even after a disappointing end to nonconference play, the mood among the team is very positive and the Cyclones are excited to open up play.

“I think that the players are definitely showing that we’re getting a lot better, and team chemistry is very strong with players learning to play their roles a lot better,” said Rebecca Hornbacher, interim head coach.

Senior defender Lauren Sims echoed her coach’s sentiments.

“Overall, it’s gone great,” Sims said. “We’ve made great improvements and team cohesiveness is coming along awesome.”

While Sims is entering conference play for the last time, it is a new start for Hornbacher, who is very optimistic about her team’s chances.

“I view it as a brand new season for us,” Hornbacher said. “We are in a strong conference, but I view it as a positive thing because when you play against some teams ranked in the top 20, a win could do a lot for our program.”

Sims hopes other teams’ impressions of the Cyclones pay dividends in the future. The Cyclones finished eighth in the Big 12 Conference last season, but Sims said that leaves the door open for upsets, because she thinks several teams could underestimate Iowa State.

For that reason and others, Sims said the Cyclones feel good about their chances in the conference. She said the team has done many things to prepare.

“Our learning curve has been great and we’ve made big steps in every game,” she said. “If we continue to improve, I don’t think there’s anything that can slow us down.”

Hornbacher said she has led her team through several steps in order to produce that improvement.

“We’ve focused on our style of play as a team, and the players are beginning to understand the system and play off of each other,” Hornbacher said. “We’ve really worked on creating a lot more opportunities on our attack, and we have an arsenal of players who are getting off shots.”

Sims said a lot of the keys to the team’s improvement are mental.

She said as long as the team believes they can win every game they play, they’ll be all right.

“We’ve been relentless with our pressure and showed a lot of poise in our overtime victory on the road,” Hornbacher said.

Hornbacher has been pleased with the fan support but would love to see more people come out and support the Cyclones during the rest of the season.

“I think that the environment is very positive,” Hornbacher said. “Our program is going in the right direction and the players are putting in the effort to get better.”