The suddenly struggling ISU soccer team dropped another two games this weekend.

After a blitzing start of 6-1-2, the Cyclones now find themselves in the midst of mediocrity at 6-4-3.

Sunday afternoon on a cold and rain-soaked field, the Cyclones dropped their third straight game, 2-0, against an accomplished Western Illinois team.

“They didn’t surprise me,” senior captain Erin Witte said. “I just felt like we didn’t play to our ability.”

Western Illinois improved its record to 11-1-1 with the win, and evened its all-time series record with Iowa State at 1-1.

Although it rained throughout the game, sophomore midfielder Elise Reid made no excuses for the loss.

“I don’t think we can blame anything on the weather,” Reid said. “It just made the ball slip a little bit, and we should have been ready for it.”

Although the team may be going through a rough patch, there is still a lot of soccer to play, and coach Rebecca Hornbacher hasn’t lost faith in her team.

“We came out with fire in the second half, but we’re going to need that effort throughout the entire game to be able to win,” Hornbacher said. “I still believe in my team, though, and that we are able to compete with any team we play.”

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-6-1, 3-3) defeated the Cyclones 3-1 Friday night in Lubbock, Texas. The Cyclones had a 1-0 lead, thanks to senior Stephanie Kaphingst’s third goal of the season. The Red Raiders, however, netted three goals in a 10-minute span late in the second half to grab the victory.

The win was Texas Tech’s first over Iowa State since the inaugural season of the Big 12 in 1996. After the weekend, the Cyclones find themselves tied for sixth place in the conference, along with the Texas Longhorns.

The road will not get any smoother for the Cyclones in the next week. Friday night, first-place Texas A&M comes to Ames, bringing an 11-2-1 overall record and a conference mark of 5-1.

“At this point in time we have to correct some things, we have to be sharper defensively and have accountability for our marks,” Hornbacher said. “But I still very much believe in our team, and we have five Big 12 games in front of us, so we have to come out, refocus and get better.”