Baylor topped the Cyclones 3–1 Sunday, leaving the field feeling like they had beaten themselves.

The Bears (6–3–4, 2–2–2, Big 12) struck first at the 33-minute 31-second mark in the first half, when freshman forward Dana Larsen played a cross into the box for junior midfielder Lotto Smith, who headed it past ISU senior goalkeeper Ann Gleason, putting Baylor up 1–0.

Baylor’s three-defender set kept the Cyclones (6–5–4, 1–4) from getting many shots off, as they were held to two shots in the first half, with none of the shots being on goal.

Larsen made her mark on the game again with 36:15 remaining in the second half, firing a shot from 18 yards out and depositing it in the top left corner of the goal, putting Baylor ahead 2–0.

Larsen continued to give the Cyclones trouble as she connected with Smith again, putting the Bears up 3-0 with 28:00 left in the game.

Senior midfielder Casey Bothwell made sure the Cyclones didn’t finish with a goose egg as she put one in unassisted from 18 yards out, cutting the score to 3–1 at the 22:08 mark. That wasn’t enough, however, as the Bears were able to hang on for a 3–1 victory.

A part of the Bears’ success came from their ability to move the ball in the midfield, which they helped themselves accomplish by putting three defenders up top, something Iowa State isn’t used to seeing.

“It’s different when you play a team that man marks you,” senior midfielder Adrianna O’Neill said. “You have to win the individual battles, which we don’t. We needed to go out there and wear them out and make them mark up and try to make space for ourselves.”

The loss marked Iowa State’s second in a row and moved their record to 1–4 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones showed signs of weakness against Baylor that they had improved upon the game before, against Oklahoma.

“Friday, we dominated the game. Today, at times, I thought we put them under a lot of pressure, but we just didn’t consistently play both sides of the ball for 90 minutes,” coach Wendy Dillinger said.

This weekend has left the Cyclones with the need to step back and re-evaluate what they need to do to win.

“We’re trying to problem-solve right now,” Dillinger said. “We’re trying to figure out how to correct the things that are breaking down, and play with a little more urgency, yet, composure, once we get around the goal.”

Overall, the Cyclones are having trouble scoring, and they feel as if they have a bigger hole to climb out of when the opponent scores first, as Baylor did Sunday. This leads to the defenders feeling more pressure to keep the other team off the board.

“I think, since we are having a hard time scoring, our backs are feeling a lot of pressure to not give up goals,” Dillinger said. “Once we do give up a goal, it feels like that much bigger of a hole to get out of.”

Before the Cyclones can earn more wins over their conference opponents, they have to overcome themselves.

“I think we’re not only having problems with the teams we’re playing, we’re having problems with ourselves,” senior midfielder Casey Bothwell said. “It’s apparent that we have the ability to play with and even beat the teams that we’re playing. It’s just frustrating that we can’t get the ‘W’.”

One of the Cyclones’ weaknesses has been their performance in running plays. The team has a six-game streak of not scoring a goal in transition.

The Cyclones have been relying on their strengths in set pieces and that is something their opponents are going to start to pick up on as the conference tournament approaches.

Dillinger has expressed this factor to the team by comparing them to a team in a different sport.

“It’s like coach always tells us: We’re not a football team,” Bothwell said. “We don’t have specific plays that we have to run or have specific roles; we have to be smart, improvise and figure it out on the field.”

The Cyclones will need to address the issues soon, because the rest of the conference schedule is only going to get harder.

“Our heads are down right now, but we need to find a way to figure this out,” Bothwell said. “It’s going to be a battle, these next five games, and it’s going to be totally in our hands. We have to come out and get it; it’s not going to be handed to us. Nothing is in this conference.”