Following a 2-0 loss to the No. 18 (at the time) West Virginia Mountaineers, the Iowa State Cyclones are preparing for the final stretch of games this season with hopes of qualifying for the Big 12 tournament.

Hannah Cade returns to the lineup

After suffering a foot injury against the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos on Sept. 14, junior midfielder Hannah Cade’s season was thought to be over. However, her injury wasn’t as severe as the doctor initially expected, and she made her return to action against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Cade had a first-degree foot sprain. If she had a second-degree foot sprain, she would’ve had to have surgery and she likely would have been done for the season.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Cade said. “I’m excited that it wasn’t anything worse than what it was.”

Cade’s return to the lineup could pay dividends going forward, as she had been one of the better starters for the Cyclones early in the season.

“It’s awesome to have her back,” said Marin Daniel, redshirt sophomore defender. “She always brings that energy and she’s a really good player.”

2019 recruiting class will add much-needed depth

The Cyclones’ recruiting class features five defenders, three midfielders and one forward, which will make the Cyclones a much deeper team in the years to come.

The class of 2019 visited Ames recently for their official visit weekend.

“The class is super athletic, really fast and have a lot of height,” said Iowa State coach Tony Minatta. “There are at least five players for the 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-11 range.”

With the Cyclones playing in 11 games decided by one goal or in a tie this season, the Cyclones have added some recruits in the class of 2019 that have won a lot of games in their youth career.

“They all come from really good backgrounds soccer-wise, they’re winners, and it’s going to add a lot of depth to the team, and we’ll be able to overcome injuries better than we were this season,” Minatta said.

Cyclones preparing for important weekend

The Cyclones must win at least two of their final three games in order to stay in contention for qualification in the Big 12 tournament. Only the top eight teams qualify for the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones currently stand at ninth in the Big 12 and are two games behind the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, who are both tied for seventh out of 10 teams in the Big 12.

For the Cyclones to finish eighth or better in the Big 12, they must win one or both of their games this weekend and then beat the Kansas State Wildcats on Oct. 25. The Cyclones travel to Norman, Oklahoma, on Friday night to face the Oklahoma Sooners and to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face Oklahoma State.

With only three games remaining this season, the Cyclones know time is running out and what needs to be done in order to make the Big 12 tournament.

“Going into this weekend, they know that they control their own destiny and they know what they have to do,” Minatta said.