Brianna Johnson nearly played the entirety of every single game for the Iowa State Soccer team in 2016.

Aside from a matchup with No. 7 Florida, Johnson played every minute for the Cyclones, proving to be the most conditioned player on the field.

Although this season, Coach Tony Minatta hopes to give Johnson a little bit more rest if possible.

“She’s a rock,” Minatta said. “If we can steal some minutes of rest for her this season we’re going to try to.”

Being a midfielder, Johnson is able to play a lot of minutes in games, even at the Division I level.

“Positionally it’s not as tasking as some of the other positions on the field, especially if your able to do it correctly,” Minatta said.

Johnson averaged over 90 minutes a game over the course of last year.

It’s easy to think that by the end of the season, Johnson could have gotten worn out, but she played the position correctly as Minatta put it.

“It definitely gets tiring towards the end of the season, but everyone’s on the same boat including our opponents. It’s just a matter of pushing through your limits.”

That’s exactly what Iowa State will be trying to do this season.

After being snubbed from the NCAA tournament with a stellar resume, Johnson looks to make her first trip to the big dance in 2017.

“I think it’s great because my first couple years here we didn’t do as great as we wanted to,” Johnson said. “But now we had the chance of succeeding and we want to do that again.”

A trip to the tournament would be the team’s second in history and first under 4th-year head coach Tony Minatta.

“I think Tony does a great job,” Johnson said. “I think he’s learned a lot over the years and he gets better each year with his practices and dynamics of everything.”

Iowa State will open the season on Friday, August 18 against Creighton after an exhibition matchup with Purdue this Saturday, and you can bet Johnson will be ready.

At the end of the day we’re trying to win games and she’s our best bet for that.”