If the Iowa State women’s soccer team makes it to the NCAA Tournament in 2017, it will be because of their defensive play.

The Cyclones took down Missouri-Kansas City 2-0 on Sunday to earn their second shutout in a row.

“We have to be able to defend, lock teams out, and not give up opportunities,” Coach Tony Minatta said. “We gave up some shots, but nothing inside 18. They had no real clean looks at the goal. I was really proud of the defensive shape we had today.”

The defense has played a big part in the action for Iowa State this season, with all but two games being decided by one goal or less.

“For sure, our main focus is defense first, and our back line does a fantastic job of not letting girls [get behind them],” said midfielder Emily Steil. “They’re a huge part of our win.”

Steil scored the second goal of the day to add to the Iowa State lead and eventually give the team a win.

“You can have all the shutouts you want, but ultimately you’ve got to score,” Minatta said. “To get those goals, it just gives the team a lift and a little bit of confidence.”

The go-ahead goal, however, was scored by freshman Courtney Powell in the 78th minute.

“[The goal] felt awesome,” Powell said. “It wasn’t my best goal. It didn’t have much power behind it, but I just shielded it around the keeper and I saw the open net. A goal’s a goal and it got the team pumped up.”

Powell’s goal broke a 215-minute scoreless streak the Cyclones had been on since she herself scored her first college goal on the road against Minnesota.

“I can’t help but give credit to my team,” Powell said. “That ball from Brooke [Tasker] was awesome.”

Powell now leads the team in goals as she is the lone player with a pair of them.

“I’ve been waiting my whole career to get a forward like Courtney Powell,” Minatta said. “She has incredible pace, and this inner drive and desire to score. When you get that in a player, it’s what every coach wants.”

The win improves Iowa State’s record to 2-3-1 through six games this season.

“We obviously had a tough couple of weeks there with some of the injuries we suffered and some of the losses we took.”

The injuries that Minatta was referring to were to defender Carly Langhurst and midfielder Merin Mundt. Both were consistent starters for the team that will now be without them for the year.

That came after the Cyclones were taken down by Iowa in an overtime thriller and Minnesota in a blowout win.

“We were sluggish to start off in the first half, and in the second half they really showed their quality and resilience,” Minatta said. “It was a good building block for us.”

The team will return to the field on Friday when they travel to the west coast to face Cal State Fullerton. The match will kick off at 9:00 p.m. CT.