Iowa State entered Sunday’s game against Kansas riding the momentum of its double-overtime win against Texas Tech on Friday.

However, the Cyclones (8-9-1, 1-6 Big 12) couldn’t execute when needed in the 6-1 loss to the Jayhawks (11-7, 3-4), who made sure to capitalize.

“We weren’t disciplined in the box,” said sophomore midfielder Emily Goldstein. “When we had the opportunities, we weren’t able to put them away and that’s just a lack of focus, a lack of discipline.”

Iowa State came out aggressively on offense with sophomore forward Jennifer Dominguez nearly putting the Cyclones up 1-0 within the first 30 seconds. However, her shot from the side missed wide and even though the Jayhawks won by five goals, senior co-captain Emily Hejlik said an early score would have changed everything.

“We had our chances. I know [Dominguez] would like to have that back, and a bunch of us had our own chances, and if we score and we’re up 1-0, that changes the whole game,” Hejlik said. “Even if it’s 1-1, soccer’s a game of momentum and they had the momentum; they finished their chances and we didn’t.”

The Jayhawks began their scoring surge in the 10th minute, when midfielder Amy Grow scored on a free kick just outside the box that went over goalkeeper Maddie Jobe’s hands for the score.

Kansas went on to score five more times during the remainder of the game, despite being out-shot by the Cyclones 19-17. While Hejlik said that’s how soccer goes at times, Goldstein said they can’t forget what it feels like to lose like that.

“It was just one of those games that we really couldn’t score and we just need to take this game and we need to remember how this felt, and we just need to walk off this field knowing something like that will never happen again no matter what it takes,” Goldstein said. “We just need to put a body on it and get it in the goal.”

Besides being able to capitalize, ISU coach Wendy Dillinger said last year’s 2-0 loss to the Cyclones gave Kansas an added incentive.

“They have talented players, but I think that they have a very short memory of what happened last year when we beat them here,” Dillinger said.

Not only are the Cyclones competing for the final spot in the Big 12 tournament in these final games, but Sunday also was senior night for the four seniors on roster.

Hejlik said this loss puts an extra chip on her shoulder to finish out on a winning note on Friday at Missouri and to qualify for the Big 12 tournament as well.

“You always play with a little chip on your shoulder, but it gives you more motivation,” Hejlik said. “It was more disappointing today just knowing all the hard work that the team and the staff always puts into everything, but there will definitely be more motivation for Friday.”

Freshman Kaeli Flaska pushed across Iowa State’s lone goal in the match, which also happened to be her first goal since her hat trick performance on Sept. 11 against Loyola-Chicago.

While Dillinger said some players turned it around in the second half, they have a decision to make for their final regular season game next Friday against Missouri if they hope to continue their campaign into the postseason.

“They have to make a decision that they’re going to compete. We did not compete from the get-go,” Dillinger said. “A couple people stepped up in the second half, but not overall as a team.”

In order to qualify for the Big 12 tournament, the Cyclones must finish better than Oklahoma and at time of press, both teams were tied with one conference win each. The Cyclones travel to Missouri on Friday with the match set to start at 6:30 p.m.