The roller-coaster ride that was the ISU soccer season has officially come to an end.

After a heartbreaking penalty-kick elimination at the hands of No. 2 Texas A&M in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament last week and an absence from the NCAA Tournament list, Iowa State’s season is over.

The Cyclones finished the season with a record of 8-6-5, including some of the most impressive wins in team history. Wins against then-No. 16 Oklahoma State and No. 16 Missouri were the highest-ranked teams any ISU soccer team had ever beaten.

Iowa State also earned a tie against then-No. 2 Texas, a team that went on to win the Big 12 Tournament. The team also played Texas A&M to an overtime tie before losing a heartbreaking 8-7 round in PKs in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.

“This season I am mostly proud of how we performed against the top teams in the nation,” said senior captain Erin Witte. “Tying Texas and Texas A&M, who were both ranked number two in the nation, was a huge accomplishment for us. It’s one thing tying a team that is number two in your conference, but these two teams were ranked that high out of the whole nation.”

After a red-hot start of 6-1-3, the Iowa State team was off to the best start in history. After the tie against the Longhorns, something seemed to be sapped from them, and a hurtful four-game losing streak to Colorado, Texas Tech, Western Illinois and Texas A&M ensued. Witte and sophomore midfielder Elise Reid made no excuses and attributed the losses to a lack of preparation.

“I think there were some games we just didn’t come out to play,” Reid said. “If we would have come to play, we might have won and wouldn’t have been in the stressful situation we were put in.”

Witte feels the same way and was regretful of the team’s lack of consistency.

“The only regrets that I have from this season are not being consistent,” Witte said. “We started our preseason off really well and, as the season went on, we didn’t show up to every game. I know that we would be one of the top teams if we were more consistent.”

One bright side of the season is that the two leading scorers were underclassmen and All-Big 12 selections. Reid, a sophomore and second-team All-Conference selection, led the team in goals, with 5, and in points, with 11. Not far behind was two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and Big 12 All-Newcomer selection freshman midfielder Jordan Bishop, who garnered 4 goals and 10 points. Along with sophomore goalie Ann Gleason, conference leader in saves and save percentage, Reid and Bishop have created optimism for the immediate future of the program.

“They will definitely get to the NCAA next year,” said senior captain Brittanie Waddell. “They have a great staff behind them that knows how much potential they all have. I’m looking forward to cheering them all on.”

Reid is already excited for next year and thinks her future junior class can take the team to where it should be.

“We are losing a big part of our team. The senior class was awesome, but I think that the junior class will be good leaders and get us through another good year,” Reid said.

As for the end of this year, the Cyclones will lose six seniors – Stephanie Kaphingst, Maggie McManemin, Beth Passman, Erin Tudor, Waddell and Witte.

“Now that it’s over, it’s a surreal feeling to have to do something other than what you were born to do,” Waddell said.