The Cyclones’ inability to execute when they needed to resulted in a loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State on Sunday.

The Cowgirls came into the game ranked eighth in the country and undefeated in conference play. And the Cyclones kept the pressure up, but were unable to put a goal in the net.

“Playing with them, it didn’t feel like we were any less in technical ability,” said ISU senior midfielder and co-captain Jordan Bishop.

The lone goal in the game came in the 13th minute, when Cowgirl junior midfielder Krista Lopez got a cross pass from junior defender Colleen Dougherty to give the Sooners the 1-0 lead.

“For most of the game we were tight and disciplined defensively, but we let up and had one error and they took advantage of that opportunity and put the ball in the back of the net,” said junior defender and co-captain Mary Kate McLaughlin.

Lopez has had games this year with two or even three goals, so holding her to one was a confidence booster for the Cyclones.

“We stayed tight, we stayed disciplined, we learned a lot from the Oklahoma game, and we didn’t want to let that happen again,” McLaughlin said. “I think we were happy with it, but we weren’t content with it.”

After the early goal, Oklahoma State kept up its strong offensive attack, but the Cyclone defense blocked five shots and freshman keeper Maddie Jobe saved three to keep the score at 1-0.

“We didn’t let up. We saw what we needed to do and we just kept going. It’s just been a huge change for us because most games when we go down, we go down hard, but this game we stepped it up to another level that we haven’t before,” said freshman midfielder Emily Goldstein.

Freshman forward Jen Dominguez closed out the half with a shot blocked and a shot that was saved by Oklahoma State keeper Adrianna Franch.

Iowa State came out firing in the second half despite the one-goal deficit and out-shot the Cowgirls 6-2, but missed opportunities made it hard for the Cyclones to score.

“You don’t get very many [opportunities] against a good team like that because they are so disciplined all over the field, so just making the most of opportunities we do have,” Bishop said.

Iowa State’s intensity also helped keep the game tight, and Goldstein said it will help them in future games if they can keep it up for the entire game.

“We need to take the intensity and the feistiness that we had for the 80 minutes that we had it and apply it to 90 minutes. We can’t ever have a mental lapse like those five to 10 minutes where we were mentally shut out of the game and need to make sure we are in the game the whole 90 minutes,” she said.

Earlier this season, the team got word that an article called Iowa State the doormat of the Big 12, a term members believe they won’t be associated with after contending with one of the top teams in the country.

“It shows we’re here,” Bishop said. “We aren’t going to lay over and let people walk over us. We’ve never been that team, we just haven’t finished well in the past couple years.”

Despite the loss, coach Wendy Dillinger was still very happy with the way the team played.

“We played right with them the whole game,” Dillinger said. “The difference between them and us is we had a breakdown and they took advantage of it, and a great team is going to punish you when you make a mistake.”

Dillinger also added that the Cyclones had the same opportunity late in the game that Oklahoma State did earlier on, but the Cyclones weren’t able to execute.

Dominguez had another opportunity to score later on in the game, and Dillinger credited the Cowgirl defense for keeping Dominguez’s ball out of the net.

“Jen Dominguez had a good look late in the game and they crushed her basically in the box, so they are much better defensively,” Dillinger said.

Dillinger also said the lack of experience with 13 freshmen on the roster is something that is improving with time.

“I think as a young team it’s hard to get two years of experience in a month,” Dillinger said. “They realize now that they’re in for a fight every game the rest of the year. So, you have a choice. Either give up or keep fighting, and they keep fighting.”

The loss brought the Cyclones’ record to 6-5-2 on the season and 1-2-0 in the conference, and Oklahoma State improved to 11-1-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12.

The Cyclones will continue their Big 12 season with a pair of games this weekend against Nebraska and Colorado, the first being against Nebraska on the road at 4:30 p.m. Friday.