KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jessica Reyes wound up and fired a laser shot from about 30 feet out that took only half a second to reach the goal. The ball never dropped as it deflected off the crossbar and back into the field of play.

It wasn’t the first shot that got away from the Cyclones this game, and certainly not the first one this season. It was Reyes’ fourth such crossbar-deflection in three games.

This one, however, might have hurt the most.

“I was actually already jumping up and down when the ball hit the crossbar,” said interim head coach Tony Minatta. “I was already was counting it as a goal.”

The cold, blistering wind stung less than the sting of watching a season full of successes come down to a game of inches as Iowa State fell to Baylor 1-0 on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. The missed opportunity came nearly 10 minutes after having three consecutive corner kicks fail to produce points for the Cyclones. 

Emotions ran high as the senior-led team walked off the field for the last time as teammates. As reality set in, teammates could be seen hugging and crying.

“I feel like I let down the seniors a little bit,” said freshman forward Koree Willer. “They deserved so much more. I wish I would have been able to; you always go back and wish you could do things different.”

Willer was the team’s leader in shots with two as 11 different Cyclones recorded a shot. The freshman will play a key role in the Cyclones’ offense next season for a team that will feature a new head coach while losing nine seniors.

The Cyclones’ loss to the Bears halted all thoughts about next season and focused all attention on a senior class that had started Big 12 play with a 0-3-1 record, only to finish fourth in the league with a 3-1-0 finish.

It was a team that had never had a taste of the postseason until Wednesday and watched it be whisked away by a team it had beat in dramatic fashion only weeks before.

Even as it played its Big 12 Championship game without the head coach that had coached them all season, after Wendy Dillinger was dismissed Sunday, Nov. 3, the team played with a Baylor squad that was ranked for much of the 2013 season. This season’s successes, players said, can be accredited to a connection that has never existed before.

“We came into the season not really expecting a lot of camaraderie,” said senior goalkeeper Maddie Jobe. “This was a special team. There has never been this much chemistry since I’ve been here.”

Minatta gave all the credit to the team, as well. He said the coaching change had little effect on the team and only led to a more focused club.

The former Marine had tears in his eyes as he answered questions about a team he had coached for the past two seasons. The 1-0 loss reflected a season full of roller coaster wins and losses.

He has no doubt, though, that the team will rebound.

“The legacy of the senior class isn’t so much that they got back to the Big 12 tournament for the first time in the last six years,” Minatta said. “In my opinion, the legacy is what they instilled in those freshmen to want to play and keep the tradition going.”