The Iowa State Women’s Soccer upset bid on the top seeded Texas A&M Aggies fell just short as the Cyclones lost to A&M in penalty kicks 8-7. The penalty kicks came after the Cyclones and Aggies battled through two halves and two overtimes of soccer which saw the game end in a 1-1 stalemate.

Texas A&M opened the scoring in the 24th minute on a goal scored by Elisabeth Jones. The Cyclones received some help in the 31st minute as Aggie captain Melissa Garey was ejected from the game for receiving a red card, leaving A&M with 10 players for the rest of the match.

Iowa State answered the A&M goal late, scoring in the 84th minute off a goal by Amanda Nimtz. The sophomore forward buried her shot in the back corner of the net to tie send the game into overtime.

In overtime the Cyclones created several opportunities and forced Aggie goalkeeper Kristin Arnold to make several game saving saves, including a sprawling save on the goal line off a Stephanie Kaphingst shot in the first overtime.

During the shootout, the Cyclones and Aggies both connected on their first seven opportunities. Iowa State’s eighth shooter, Amanda Nimtz, was prepared to shoot when Aggie coach signaled the ref for a goalkeeper substitution. Nimtz’s shot was then blocked by keeper Kelly Dyer. On the next shot, Jones scored on her opportunity as her shot made it past freshman Cyclone keeper Ashley Costanzo, sending the Aggies to the semi-finals.

Texas A&M out shot the Cyclones 25-13 and ISU keeper Ann Gleason recorded a career high twelve saves in the game.