A lost year for the Cyclones’ women’s soccer team wasn’t exactly how Brianna Johnson wanted to end her college career. 

Iowa State has been eliminated from competing in the Big 12 soccer conference tournament. A road game against newcomers Kansas State on Oct. 27 was her swan song. Johnson will graduate in May with a degree in kinesiology.

“I learned to never take anything for granted,” Johnson said in a reflective tone. “I was here for five years and it still flew by.”

The Cyclones’ starting center back has seen her fair share of highs and lows since arriving in Ames from Northwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas. 

She is the only player on the roster who arrived during the days of former coach Wendy Dillinger, who was at Iowa State from 2008 to 2013. The longest tenured Cyclone has become a defensive stalwart over the past three years, culminating in playing every minute of the 2016 season and leading the Cyclones to the cusp of the NCAA tournament. 

Despite falling just short at 10-8-1, it was Iowa State’s best season since the team’s only NCAA tournament appearance in 2005 (11-7-3). 

She had a frustrating freshman year in which she played in only two games, but in her second year she began to steadily increase her contributions. 

Coach Tony Minatta described her freshman year as one of learning how to adjust to the Big 12 level. 

“When she first got here, she struggled a lot,” Minatta said. “I don’t even think she was 18 yet when she got here [she graduated early]. 

“It was a matter of getting confidence and understanding the workload required at this level.”

In her second year, small steps were made. The Cyclones finished 7-11 on the season and failed to make the tournament, and she appeared in five games off the bench. However, it wasn’t until her redshirt sophomore year that she began to make a lasting impact. 

Starting 17 of the team’s 18 games in a 6-12 season, she established herself as a leader for the Cyclones and has since provided her defensive line with what Minatta calls, “a calming presence.”

Junior defender Jordan Enga, who has played with Johnson since she was a freshman and made the transition from left back to center back this year, is thankful for Johnson’s help and guidance.

“It’s awesome having someone that I can look up to and help me transition to center back,” Enga said. 

She became an ever-present force in 2016 and led the Cyclones to the team’s best performance under Minatta. She’s started in 16 of Iowa State’s 17 games this season. Despite the 3-12-3 record, Johnson has been a boon for Iowa State in the midst of a season that deteriorated due to injuries and overtime heartbreak. 

Johnson’s senior year has served as an opportunity to use her position as co-captain to prepare her teammates for not just the next game but for the years ahead. Her self-described style of “leading by example” has been vital. 

Johnson was the lone returning starter from last year’s backline, and as injury ended the season of fellow senior and right back Sasha Stinson and held sophomore defender Carly Langhurst out for almost two months, players were given extended minutes in new positions with no prior experience in those roles. 

While that did damage the attack and contribute to Iowa State’s poor finish to the season, the Cyclones still managed to get consistent performances out of their backline.

Sophomore defender Merin Mundt moved from left wing to left back in the third game of the season, and she attributes the defensive solidity of the team to Johnson.

“She can deal with any kind of situation on the field,” Mundt said.

The youthfulness of the 2017 team has also been apparent. With only three seniors seeing the field this year and with injuries forcing Minatta’s hand, three underclassmen have seen time in defense. 

Freshman defender Shealyn Sullivan came to Ames as a center back but she has seen time at right back and left back this year, and started in place of the now-injured Mundt against Texas Tech. 

Sullivan sees Johnson as a role model on the field. 

“For me, she helps with everything,” Sullivan said. “She sets a really good example for me, she never gives up.”

Junior midfielder Emily Steil echoed her teammates and summed up why Johnson will be missed by this Cyclones team. 

“Bri is our rock,” Steil said. “She’s not the most outspoken person in the world but she leads with her actions.”