The long trip is finally over. The Cyclones finished their early season road stretch with a weekend split — a 0-2 loss at Loyola-Chicago on Friday and a 2-0 win over Illinois State on Sunday.

The ISU defense has been the backbone to the successful 5-1-2 record so far, but the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers found a way to exploit it Friday night, handing the Cyclones their first loss of the season.

“Really, we were getting after them, we just didn’t put a ball in and then we started giving away little pieces of the game,” said ISU coach Wendy Dillinger. “We gave up that corner kick with 30 seconds left that they ended up scoring on, kind of shifting the momentum going into the second half.”

The Cyclone defense kept the Ramblers quiet for the first 35 minutes of the first half and outshot them 5-3 as well, until Loyola-Chicago went on a surge with six shots on goal in eight minutes at the end of the half.

Dillinger was quick to note, however, that the defense wasn’t completely at fault, as the Cyclones’ offensive scheme left them vulnerable on turnovers.

“It was more a situation of we were pounding them at their end and they were counter-attacking. So when we pushed seven people forward, when we would lose the ball, they would counter quickly,” Dillinger said. “Statistics don’t really illustrate what that game was like at the end of the game, but we were in their end and then they’d counter.”

Of Loyola-Chicago’s six shots on goal at the end of the first half, one managed to get past ISU freshman keeper Maddie Jobe as forward Alex Brown headed in the first goal of the game for the Ramblers.

A goal early in the second half for Loyola-Chicago ended up being the last goal of the game, and even though the Cyclones outshot Loyola-Chicago 15-14, they couldn’t put any balls away.

“It was just really frustrating because the chances were there and we just didn’t put them away, and knowing that we were right there in the game and not being able to finish it and win,” said freshman forward Jennifer Dominguez.

The game wasn’t a total loss for Iowa State though, with the players viewing it as a learning experience heading into a Cy-Hawk series game on Friday.

“You take all the games you’ve played in and you learn from them, loss or a win,” said senior co-captain midfielder Jordan Bishop. 

“We put all of our heart into the game and we didn’t play the best that we could, so we know what to do better; and since Iowa is our number-one rivalry, we’re ready for it.” 

The Cyclones used the loss as motivation for Sunday’s game against Illinois State as well.

“We kind of put a chip on our shoulder knowing that we wanted to win Friday night and we didn’t and knew that we had to get down to work, get our hands dirty, and put a work ethic together that was going to last 90 minutes so we could win,” Dominguez said.

The game remained scoreless for almost as long as Friday’s, but this time the Cyclones were the ones breaking the tie.

“We had a good transition as a team and we made a couple connecting passes, and then Margaret Powers played a perfect ball through and I was just slicing down the box and the girl came from behind and tackled me, so Brit just put it away,” said Bishop on getting fouled and the ensuing penalty kick.

It seemed like a surprising decision from Dillinger when she chose freshman forward Brittany Morgan to kick the penalty kick, as she has no goals on the season and other girls on the team have as many as two. The choice ended up paying off twice over for the Cyclones, as Morgan buried the kick in the 31st minute and ended up scoring the only other goal of the game in the 75th.

“I was really surprised. I didn’t think I would be taking it at all. In the past I’ve kind of choked on PKs before, so I was kind of relieved to get my first career goal off of a PK and actually getting a goal under my belt,” Morgan said.

“It helped a lot because in the past couple games I’ve had several chances to score and nothing has fallen for me, so finally to get a couple goals, I think it will help me with my momentum for the next couple of games.”

Jobe bounced back from Friday’s loss as well, making five saves and shutting out the Ramblers for her second shutout of the year. She is now 3-1-1 since becoming the starter Aug. 29 against Montana.

The Cyclones realized Friday that they can’t take teams for granted, and the loss to Loyola-Chicago was their first of the season — as well as the Ramblers’ second win. They’ll need another solid week of practice if they don’t plan to be on the losing end this Friday. Iowa State takes on the 6-1 Iowa Hawkeyes at home at 6:30 p.m.