The ISU soccer team suffered its second loss of the season on Friday night, falling to Iowa 3-1. The Cyclones (3-2) edged the Hawkeyes (5-0) in both shots and corner kicks but failed to capitalize on opportunities throughout the game.

Iowa netted the first three goals of the game Friday night in front of a record crowd of 1,451 at the ISU Soccer Complex. It wasn’t until the 87th minute that ISU junior Emily Goldstein buried the Cyclones’ lone goal, her third of the season.

“We finally settled down and started playing soccer the way we know how,” Goldstein said of the Cyclones’ second half play.

Friday was indeed a tale of two halves for the Cyclones. The team was outshot 9-6 in the first half and trailed the Hawkeyes 2-0 at half time, compared to a 13-4 advantage in shots in the second half, when the Cyclones finally managed to get on the scoreboard late.

“We need to make a decision [about] what team we want to be,” said ISU coach Wendy Dillinger. “We wasted 45 minutes in the first half, decided to come out and play hard in the second half, but it was too little too late. You can’t let 45 minutes of the game go by before you start to play.”

ISU junior goalkeeper Maddie Jobe played a full 90 minutes on Friday, making five saves in the losing effort. Jobe fell to 3-2 on the season.

The Cyclones subbed frequently on Friday, as 19 players saw playing time. Dillinger said this was more an effort to keep everyone fresh, rather than to get players playing time.

“We have two different styles of players,” Dillinger said. “We have players that are very technical and crafty and creative but not real pacey, and we have players that have a lot of speed but don’t have the same ball control. So just trying to mix up combinations up top to see what’s going to give us the best opportunity to score,”

Dillinger talked with her players on the field for about 15 minutes after the game, emphasizing that they simply need to be better and play up to their capabilities.

“She just kind of was like, ‘It’s not good enough,’” said ISU junior Meredith Skitt. “The first half, we came out way too slow and they took advantage of their chances put a few in, and we hung our heads a little bit. We came out harder in the second half but just a little too late, I guess.”

The Cyclones move on to face Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. Tuesday night in Ames.