Iowa State junior receiver Jaylin Noel says limiting mistakes will be a key against a veteran UNI defense. The Cyclones and Panthers collide in Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday in the season opener for both.

With several returning starters missing on offense, including quarterback and tailback, the Cyclones are young on offense.

Noel says under new offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, the Cyclones have been working to eliminate mistakes that can end drives.

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara hopes to play on Saturday when the Hawkeyes host Utah State in their season opener. The transfer from Michigan suffered a muscle strain in a public scrimmage this month and returned to practice last week.

McNamara says a decision will be made as kickoff approaches.

McNamara has returned to practice but says he is not taking part in every segment.

If he gets the green light McNamara says ready for it.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa redshirt sophomore Mia Magnotta was named the NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week it was announced Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes are coming off an undefeated opening weekend at the ACC/B1G Challenge, which included a shutout victory over No. 12 Wake Forest and a 3-2 overtime victory at No. 1 North Carolina.

Magnotta posted both wins in goal, recording her first shutout of her career vs. Wake Forest. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania native tallied a career high six saves against No. 1 North Carolina in her fifth career start.

No. 7 Iowa travels to Albany, New York on Friday to face Fairfield at 1 p.m. (CT).

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State returns to the Cyclone Soccer Complex on Thursday, August 31, following a three-game road stretch that saw the Cyclones go 1-2 to welcome nationally-ranked Memphis to Ames. Thursday’s match is set to kick off at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

It’s the second meeting in the past two years for the Tigers and Cyclones, as Memphis took the 2022 matchup, 3-0, in Tennessee. Iowa State will look to replicate the result of its lone ranked matchup from last year’s non-conference when it downed #24 Michigan, 3-2.

The Matchup: Iowa State (2-2) vs. #16 Memphis (3-1)

Where: Cyclone Soccer Complex // Ames, Iowa

When: August 31 – 6 p.m. CT

Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Live Stats: cyclones.com

From the Notebook 

• The Cyclones have lost just one match under Coach Fannon when scoring at least two goals. Two seems to be the magic number for the offense.
• Arkansas State transfer Abigail Miller has already surpassed her 2022 point total in Jonesboro, tallying four points through four games of action (she had three points with ASU in 2022).
• Lauren Hernandez got her name in the scoring column in last Thursday night’s loss to Iowa. The sophomore converted off an Olivia Edwards free kick to pull the Cyclones within one with eight minutes remaining.
• Iowa State leads the Big 12 in shot accuracy, placing 61.8% of its attempts on goal. That’s good enough for the 16th-highest ranking in the country.
• Two Big 12 schools, TCU and UCF, dropped from the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 this week.
• Mira Emma recorded her 11th career assist in the season-opener, pushing her into the ISU top 10 all-time. One more goal would also push Emma into that top ten list.
• After program legend Jordan Silkowitz was drafted into the NWSL, a new face took the net for the Cyclones this past week, as Avery Gillahan handled goalkeeping responsibilities.
  • Gillahan earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors on August 23rd for her performances during the first week of the season.

Leading the Cyclones 

The Cyclones will look to steady the ship after a rough week on the road where they were unable to muster enough offensive support.

Four different Cyclones (Salomé Prat, Abigail Miller, Mira Emma and Lauren Hernandez) have goals to their names on the season, with Miller being the lone Cyclone to have at least two scores. ISU is 2-0 in games where it scored at least two goals and 0-2 when it scores one or less.

Two Cyclones have played all 360 minutes of action so far on the year, Hanna Reid and goalkeeper Avery Gillahan. Gillahan recorded her first career clean sheet against Northern Colorado in the first week of the season.

Scouting Memphis 

Memphis will give the Cyclones their first ranked test of the season, as the Tigers went up one spot from last week’s ranking, defeating Ohio State 6-1 before falling at #7 Alabama 2-1.

The Tiger offense is balanced and dangerous, as six different Memphis players have at least two goals on the season. The Tigers are led by fifth-year senior Mya Jones, who holds a team-high seven points. Her two goals are tied for second-most on the team and her three assists lead all Tigers.

Kaylie Bierman starts in the net for the Tigers, having played 293 minutes this season, making nine saves and allowing just two goals. Defender Sarah Hagg is the lone Tiger to have played all 360 possible minutes on the season, as the junior transfer from Eastern Illinois has yet to leave the field.

Series History 

Iowa State and Memphis will meet for the fourth time this week, with all four meetings coming in the last five seasons. The Tigers hold a 3-0 advantage over ISU and have outscored the Cyclones 7-0 across the three previous matchups. The Tigers will play in Ames for the second time ever, having taken the previous matchup 1-0 in overtime.

Up Next
Iowa State will be back in action this Sunday, Sept. 3, as it welcomes UC Santa Barbara to Ames for a weekend matinee. Sunday’s action against the Gauchos is set to kick off at 1 p.m. and the match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. 

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State freshman quarterback JJ Kohl has been named to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award watch list.

Kohl, a 6-7 signal caller from Ankeny, Iowa, joined the Cyclones in January of 2023 and is competing for action at quarterback this fall.

He was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school and arrived at Iowa State as a top-10 quarterback nationally according to ESPN and Rivals. Kohl was also an Under Armour All-America game participant.

He is one of three quarterbacks on the list of 37 players, joining Arizona State’s Jaden Rashada and UCLA’s Dante Moore.

Kohl and the Cyclones open the 2023 season Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium against UNI.

Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational

The Atlantic boys placed seventh at the Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational.  The Trojans had 185 points.  DC-G won their home meet with 34 points.  The Mustangs had the top three place winners, led by champion Jack Every.  Atlantic’s Alex Sonntag was 26th and Bennett Whetstone was 29th.  Andrew Mehaffey of AC/GC was fourth overall.

Complete boys meet results are available HERE.

Claire Pellett led the Atlantic girls to a sixth place finish with 166 points.  Pellett placed eighth overall.  Belle Berg was 21st and Katrina Williams was 37th.

Complete girls meet results are available HERE.

Shenandoah Early Bird

Lindsey Sonderman of Harlan took the girls title at the Shenandoah Early Bird Cross Country Meet Tuesday.  She helped lead her team to the title, as she was one of five Cyclone runners in the top ten.  Allie Anderson was fourth, Brylee Schechinger was sixth, Emily Schechinger was eighth and Taylor Bieker was tenth.

Clarinda won the boys team title with Treyton Schaapherder winning the crown to lead his team.  His teammate Kyle Wagoner was second.  Hayden Hash was sixth and Alex Lihs placed eighth.

Check out the team results here:  Shenandoah Boys Earlybird    Shenandoah Girls Earlybird

Hawkeye Ten Conference

• (3-0) Red Oak 25-25-25, Atlantic 15-18-14
• (3-0) Glenwood 25-25-25, Shenandoah 18-15-11
• (3-0) Kuemper Catholic 25-25-25, Creston 15-7-7

Pride of Iowa Conference

• (3-0) Southwest Valley 25-25-25, Central Decatur 18-14-10

Non-Conference

• (2-0) CAM 25-25, East Union 15-11
• (2-0) CAM 25-25, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 22-22
• (2-0) Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 25-25, East Union 21-10
• (2-0) Griswold 25-25, AHSTW 17-20
• (2-0) Griswold 25-25, Nodaway Valley 12-14
• (2-0) Nodaway Valley 25-25, AHSTW 14-23
• (2-0) East Sac County 25-25, IKM-Manning 11-14
• (2-0) East Sac County 25-25, Coon Rapids-Bayard 12-18
• (2-0) IKM-Manning 25-25, Coon Rapids-Bayard 15-15
• (3-1) Johnson-Brock 15-25-25-25, Sidney 25-20-16-22
• (3-2) Lourdes Central Catholic 10-25-25-19-15, Fremont-Mills 25-15-23-25-10
• (3-1) Woodbine 13-25-25-25, Logan-Magnolia 25-13-21-21
• (3-0) Orient-Macksburg 25-25-25, Paton-Churdan 8-15-14

THIS WEEK

The seventh-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team travels to Albany, New York to continue play on the road. The Hawkeyes will face Fairfield on Friday at 1 p.m. (CT) for a neutral sight matchup at Alumni Turf before playing UAblany  on Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. (CT).

FOLLOW LIVE

• Sunday’s game against UAlbany will be televised on American East TV.

• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com.  Game updates are also available on Twitter/@iowafieldhockey.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum was named Freshman Player of the Week, while sophomore Mia Magnotta is the Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first time either have received this honor.

• Freshman Dionne van Aalsum led the Hawkeyes to two victories in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after recording back-to-back multi-goal games in the first two games of her collegiate career.

• Iowa has now defeated the top-ranked team in three straight seasons (3-1 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2021, 2-0 vs. No. 1 Northwestern in 2022 and 3-2 vs. No. 1 North Carolina in 2023)

• The Hawkeyes return seven starters and 14 letterwinners from a team that finished 12-8, advancing to the Elite Eight for the 21st time in program history in 2022.

• The Hawkeyes made their fifth straight and 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history — the most of any team as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

• Fifth-year senior Esme Gibson (second team) earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season.

• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her tenth season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 24rd season overall.  Cellucci has been a part of 282 Iowa victories and in 2020, she led the program to the Final Four for the 12th time — the first since 2008.  Iowa has posted double digit win totals in eight of her ten seasons. The Hawkeyes have won three Big Ten titles (2019, 2019 (BTT), 2021) under her watch.

• Cellucci earned her third straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in 2021.  She is the first coach in Big Ten history to be named Coach of the Year in three consecutive seasons.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has still not named a starting quarterback for Saturday’s opener against Northern Iowa. Redshirt freshman Rocco Becht and true freshman J.J. Kohl were both listed at the top of the depth chart. Junior college transfer Tanner Hughes is also in the mix.

Campbell says they will develop a plan for the quarterbacks as the week goes on.

Campbell says the offense won’t change depending on the quarterback.

Campbell says they key for Brecht and Kohl will be bouncing back from negative plays.

Campbell has five running backs listed as a possible starter and he says they need to earn the right to be on the field.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz calls quarterback Cade McNamara questionable for Saturday’s opener against Utah State. McNamara suffered what Ferentz called a muscle strain in a public scrimmage this month. The transfer from Michigan returned to practice last week.

Ferentz says they will need to determine how effective they think he can be.

Ferentz says they want to make sure it does not become a long-term problem.

Ferentz on the issues they will consider.

Joe Labas led Iowa to a Music City Bowl win over Kentucky, but he has been hobbled since July so if McNamara can’t go Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill is the likely starter.