It was a night Meredith Skitt won’t soon forget.

Skitt and the other seniors on the ISU soccer team have spent four years trying to bounce back from losing seasons and right the ship their careers were on. On Friday, Nov. 1, after a 1-0 victory against Oklahoma State, their ship found some balance.

The win gave Iowa State (9-8-2, 3-4-1 Big 12) its first winning record since 2007 and the first of ISU coach Wendy Dillinger’s career with the Cyclones. More importantly, it solidified Iowa State’s fourth-seed spot at the Big 12 tournament.

To take that spot, Iowa State needed to beat the Cowgirls  and Baylor needed to defeat Texas Christian. Both happened

“It’s what we’ve been working [at] for four years now and to have it finally come together in our senior season, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to be with,” Skitt said. “It just feels right that we would finally figure it out our senior season.”

Against the Cowgirls, the Cyclones did not wait to take control of the game.

Jessica Reyes put home the only goal of the game seven minutes into the match, giving the Cyclones the lead after her arcing lob shot from about 20 yards away. It floated over the fingers of the Oklahoma State keeper, nicking the bottom of the crossbar and bouncing in.

Both teams were quiet for the rest of the half as Iowa State outshot Oklahoma State 6-3, with Reyes’ goal being the only shot on frame for the Cyclones.

“It’s kind of a blur; all I really remember is Brittany [Morgan] playing a ball inside and taking a touch with my right foot and then just ripping it with my left,” Reyes said of her goal.

The score remained the same until the final whistle, giving Iowa State its ninth win on the season.

Dillinger credits the leadership on the team as the reason it was able to keep focused the entire game after Reyes’ early goal.

“Our team is led by seniors that have a lot of determination,” Dillinger said. “I think their freshman year, if that would have happened, we might not have got the same result.”

Defensively, the Cyclones were able to shut down Oklahoma State’s Courtney Dike, one of the more proficient players in the Big 12 this season. Dike ranks third in the Big 12 for points and points per game, as well as second in both goals and goals per game.

“[Dike] was always on our minds; ‘Where is this girl?’ ‘How are we going to keep her out of the box?’” Skitt said. “She had a few chances, but we got lucky, and I think Jessie [Reyes] did a good job of shutting her down.”

Heading into the Big 12 tournament, Iowa State will be paired up against the fifth-seed Baylor, a team Iowa State defeated in overtime on Oct. 18. The first round game will take place at Swope Soccer Complex at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Kansas City, Mo.