The Iowa State women’s spring soccer season came to a close Friday night against the Drake Bulldogs. 

Iowa State tied with Drake 1-1.

Lack of defense 

Throughout most of the first period the Cyclones found themselves defending their own goal and attempting to stop Drake breakaways.

The Bulldogs had 20 shots on goal for the game and broke through Iowa State’s line quickly and with regularity.

The Bulldogs got five shots on goal in the first period, with one goal falling into the net as the ball ricocheted off of goalkeeper Dayja Schwichtenberg’s fingertips at the 30:33 mark.

The Cyclones became more focused on keeping Drake away from their goal instead of attacking the Bulldogs’.

Multiple times, Drake was able to calmly set up on Iowa State’s half of the field and weaved between and around defenders, leading to multiple wide open shots on goal.

The Cyclones benefited from Drake missing those opportunities, including a missed shot by the Bulldogs at the 26:33 mark, missing just off the left post.

The defensive woes continued in the second period, with the Bulldogs missing a wide open shot by missing high above the goal at the 36:43 mark.

Five minutes later at the 31:53 mark, Drake sent the ball flying past midfield and  had a player waiting on the other side. Iowa State had two players having to sprint to catch up, managing to kick the ball away and out of bounds.

Missed opportunities on offense

With the Cyclones having to prioritize defense against the Bulldogs for most of the match, a lack of offense resulted.

Iowa State had 18 shots on goal for the match.

The Cyclones had three shots on goal in the first period, with only shot coming in contact with the goalie. The other two shots sailed left and right of the post.

Offensive possessions were short lived for the Cyclones during the match, the common theme between all of them being missed passes or only one player having the ball.

Iowa State got the bulk of their shots in the second period, with the Cyclones attempting 12 shots, but with nothing to show for it.

The more shots the Cyclones had in the second period, lead to more instances of missed opportunities time after time.

With 25:17 left in the second half, Iowa State’s corner kick was not far out enough for a Cyclone to knock it in net, leading to Drake’s goalie swatting it out of the air like a center in basketball.

Three minutes later, the Cyclones got another chance at the 22:37 mark with the Cyclones getting two players into space and away from any Drake defender.

Iowa State attempted a pass from the far right side of the field to another teammate but Drake intercepted the pass and ran back toward Iowa State’s goal once again.

At the 16:01 mark, Iowa State’s offense was summed up for the evening when the Cyclones had a clean shot on goal, but the ball deflected off the top post and back out into the goalie’s arms. Two minutes pass and at the 14:18 mark, a shot from the Cyclones was blocked head on by the Bulldog’s goalie with two hands. 

The missed opportunities finally turned into a meaningful possession for the Cyclones at the 10:45 mark when junior Courtney Powell scored for Iowa State, tying the match at 1-1.