Cyclones Top No. 21 Auburn, 1-0

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State soccer team (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) defeated the No. 21 Auburn Tigers (3-2, 0-0 SEC), 1-0, at the Auburn Soccer Classic on Friday night. Redshirt freshman Kasey Opfer scored the lone, game-winning goal for the Cyclones. This is the eighth win against the top-25 in program history and the second for head coach Tony Minatta.

Turning Point of the Game
The Cyclones came out in the second half clicking on all cylinders once again. In the 47th minute, the Cyclones earned their first corner kick of the game. Sophomore Emily Steil set it up and put the ball right on the money. The ball got to redshirt freshman Kasey Opfer's head and she buried it to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead. Auburn sent everything they had into attack mode in the final 10 minutes, but the Cyclone defense and goalkeeper Lindsey Hendon battled through and held onto the shutout.

Cyclone Game Ball Goes to...
Kasey Opfer. The redshirt freshman midfielder has provided a lot of energy for the Cyclones so far this season, and it showed against the Tigers. Opfer, who sat out all of 2015 with an ACL injury, scored her first collegiate goal on an Emily Steil corner kick. Opfer competed for a strong 60 minutes.

Coach Said It
"It was a great win," head coach Tony Minatta said. "It was a great performance by the team. We had some really good moments during the game, and we had some moments where we were chasing the game quite a bit. We were able to come out in the second half and get that early goal. We defended a lot in the last 15 minutes, but when you are up, 1-0, on a top-25 team that's going to happen. Hats off to Auburn. They have some special players and they are a very well-coached team. We are honored to play at this field and in this tournament. We have a lot of work to do, but we took a big step forward today. Our goal is to get better every day and I think we have improved since our first game against Florida to now, and it is just a matter of continuing those steps. Our next game is against Georgia and we are focused on that."

Game Notes
* Redshirt freshman Kasey Opfer scored her first collegiate goal.
* Sophomore Emily Steil recorded her fourth assist.
* Junior goalkeeper Lindsey Hendon recorded five saves and her second shutout.
* The victory was the eighth win over a top-25 team and last one since No. 10 Pepperdine in 2015.

On Deck
Iowa State is back in action on Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Classic when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Fans can follow Iowa State Soccer's Twitter account (@cycloneSCR) for live updates on the game. Results will be posted on Cyclones.com after the conclusion of the match.

Next Event

Team Stats

Kasey Opfer

Emily Steil

Klasey Medelberg

Hannah Cade

Players Mentioned

Lindsey Hendon

Kasey Opfer

Emily Steil

Players Mentioned

Lindsey Hendon

Kasey Opfer

Emily Steil

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics