The Cyclones had their chances this weekend, but they just couldn’t convert.

Iowa State lost its first game of the season Friday, 2-0, at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes and were able to pull off a 0-0 stalemate with the Drake Bulldogs on Sunday.

“We just didn’t come on strong either game,” head coach Wendy Dillinger said, “and that’s something we had been doing the first part of the year. But Iowa on Friday was a very slow start, and we had a slow start again today. I think we picked it up in the second half, but we can’t let 45 minutes slip away.”

After the Bulldogs got the first shot on goal, the Cyclones quickly reversed pressure and started putting the ball on Drake’s end. But the Bulldogs defense kept the Cyclones from getting any early shots on goal.

Both teams played tough defense, and the scoreboard stood at 0-0 as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime. The Cyclones’ best opportunity came in the final 30 seconds of the first half, when Jordan Bishop sailed her attempt over the crossbar.

With 35:58 remaining in the second half, Amanda Nimtz went out with an injury to her ankle, which may have been a re-aggravation of the injury she had just come back from. A few minutes later, Emily Hejlik was also subbed out of the game as she left holding her nose.

These injuries were indicative of the Bulldogs’ physical style of play.

“They played very direct, they didn’t really control the ball much,” Dillinger said. “I think the second half we did a better job of settling the ball down and moving it. Once we did that, we created some better chances, but the first half they disrupted our position,”

Drake’s first opportunity at goal in the second half came with 29:00 left, but the header went wide of the target. Iowa State had another close chance on goal with 7:55 remaining in the second half, but the Bulldog goalie took the ball off freshman Jordan Wagner’s feet. The Cyclones weren’t able to capitalize on some of their other chances in the final minutes, and they headed into overtime for the fifth time this season.

In overtime, both teams had a couple of great chances on goal. However, both teams were unable to convert and the game ended in 0-0 stalemate.

The Cyclones held a slight advantage on shots, 15-13, while senior goalkeeper Ann Gleason saved all five Bulldog shots on goal and the Cyclones had all eight of their shots on goal blocked. Wagner led the team with four shots, three of which were on goal, and both of senior midfielder Adrianna O’Neill’s shots were on target.

The game against Drake capped off a weekend in which the Cyclones were held to zero goals, adding to their irritation.

“It’s really frustrating,” Wagner said. “Obviously, we’re supposed to score, and when we can’t finish, it’s never a good thing.”

The first 45 minutes of the match have been a focal point for the Cyclones this season. They have established the fact that it is important to come out and put pressure on the opponent right away.

“We just didn’t come out and compete in our first 45 minutes of both our games,” Gleason said. “We just didn’t come out strong and didn’t come out as ready as we need to be in the next 45 minutes, and that’s not acceptable. We have to change that right away. We have to figure it out, because we have to come out strong for whoever we’re playing.”