Iowa State women’s soccer goalie Lauren Muser took the day off on Saturday, according to Head Coach Cathy Klein.

Iowa State’s 5-0 victory over Drake on Saturday morning was largely due to their dominating defense. The Bulldogs couldn’t manage even one shot on goal, which left Muser with little to do on her end of the field.

The Cyclones, however, were unstoppable with 21 shots on goal. Christina Whitehead kicked in the first goal early in the first half, assisted by Dawn Weber. Weber later knocked in two goals of her own, while Ann Davy and Jocelyn Nordstrom each added one goal apiece.

Klein attributed the win to a good week in practice and an outstanding effort by all teammates.

“Everybody contributed. We’ve got a team concept that we win or lose together,” Klein said.

Playing on their home field also was a positive for the team.

“It makes all the difference in the world to play in front of their peers and family,” said Klein, especially with a young, unexperienced team like ISU.

Despite the cold and the Homecoming football game going on nearby at Cyclone Stadium, about 50 fans came to show their support for the successful squad.

The Cyclones’ domination over the Bulldogs gave several players the chance to come off the bench. Megan O’Leary came into the game during the first half, and added three shots on goal. Jennifer Linstrom, Ellen Reich and Jodi Reichert also added to the offensive effort.

Kim Heinzeller, a senior from Bloomington, Minn., added some humor to the match when she played for a few moments without one of her shoes. After losing it on the field, she was about to put it on when the ball came her way. She put her best stockinged-foot forward, until shouts from her coaches caused her to stop and put her shoe back on before she continued playing.

With one game left in the season, ISU’s fledging soccer team has seen much improvement from the beginning of year, Klein said, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by others.

ISU played the Drake squad in club competition last year, and Klein said the Drake coach told her he saw a “marked improvement” in the Cyclone team.

Klein credited the team’s growth to the character and intensity of the players.

“The team has developed a no-matter-what attitude and has learned to train through the pain,” she said.

Nordstrom, a fleet-footed freshman on the soccer squad, also agrees that the team has improved over time.

“None of us thought we’d be very good, but now we’re playing as a team, not individuals,” Nordstrom said.

But there’s always opportunity to get better, and Nordstrom thinks ISU could have played a better game against the Bulldogs, despite their five-goal win.

“We psyched ourselves out and played down to their level. We weren’t ready at the beginning, but we pulled it together at the end,” she said.

In sight of their final match, Nordstrom is optimistic about their play next Saturday at home against Central Missouri State.

“There were a lot of positives, but next week we’ll play 10 times better,” she said.