For the final six minutes of Iowa State’s match against Toledo, the pressure was on for the Cyclone defense as Toledo had just scored its first goal of the match.

The advantage was still in favor of Iowa State, 2-1, but Toledo was threatening to score again and it was do or die for the defense. There were two options for the Cyclones: The defense would buckle and Toledo would tie the game forcing overtime, or Iowa State would hold strong.

The Cyclones (6-3-1) decided they would thrive under the pressure of the Toledo offense and prevailed with a 2-1 final score. Coach Wendy Dillinger said it made her proud as a coach to see that kind of effort from her team.

“Sunday was tough, especially since Toledo didn’t play on Friday, so they were fresh and we had to travel Saturday,” Dillinger said. “We played really well the first 25 minutes and then started to give little pieces of the game away. We just challenged them at halftime to step up and be tough, play tough and step up physically and mentally.”

Sophomore forward Brittany Morgan scored the first Cyclone goal 14:50 minutes into the match, making the score 1-0 Cyclones. Morgan played 75 minutes in the victory and ties for the team lead in goals with three and points (six) this season.

“We did well finishing out the game,” Morgan said. “You just have to keep a positive attitude and make sure that no one on the team is getting down or anything. Keeping the team together is very important, too.”

Freshman goalkeeper Andrea Swanson is proving to be a valuable commodity for the Cyclones.

The native of Clive, Iowa, played for the full 90 minutes and recorded five saves in the Toledo victory. Dillinger talked about the maturity and confidence she has seen from Swanson since the freshman assumed goalkeeping duties.

“Andrea has been a player we have been watching for two years before she came here,” Dillinger said. “So to see the growth and development that she has had in the last few weeks, relative to the last few years, has been tremendous.”

Next up

On Friday, Big 12 Conference play will begin for Iowa State and this will mean taking a trip to College Station, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas A&M (6-4, 1-0 Big 12) boasts four Big 12 Soccer Championships since the beginning of the Big 12 and has not lost to Iowa State since 2005 in a 1-0 Cyclone victory.

The last victory for the Aggies was a 13-1 throttling of Fordham on Sunday. In that win, Texas A&M showed its depth in almost every position while it played almost every member of its 25-person roster.

“The main thing that we have to do is be disciplined,” Dillinger said. “Something that we have been really focusing on the last two weeks is just be disciplined in our defending and position.”

The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in College Station, Texas. Clone Zone will show a live webcast of the game and can be found at cyclones.com.