A Big 12 tournament spot isn’t guaranteed, yet a conference title isn’t out of reach for the ISU women’s soccer team.

Nothing is certain for the team, except from here on out each game is critical.

Two consecutive losses have dropped the Cyclones (8-5-1, 3-3-1 Big 12) out of first place in the conference standings and with three games left they are one of the nine teams contending for the eight Big 12 tournament spots.

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are among those teams jockeying for position. Iowa State hosts the Cowgirls (10-3-3, 3-3-1) and Sooners (12-3-1, 4-2-1) on Friday and Sunday, respectively, at the ISU soccer complex.

Much is left to be decided in the final two weeks of the season.

“The Big 12 tournament – we aren’t even ready to talk about that right now,” said head coach Rebecca Hornbacher. “We have still got three big games left.

“Ideally, [the tournament] is what we are preparing for and trying to solidify, but for now, we are just trying to have a game plan ready.”

Iowa State is in a tie with Oklahoma State and Nebraska – two of its last three opponents – in seventh place with 10 Big 12 points, only five points behind conference leaders Texas and Colorado (teams get three points for a win, one for a tie), but it means the Cyclones still have some work to do.

“The rest of the season is in our hands,” said senior Deb Benakis. “We have got to play well this weekend, and we have got to get the results out of it.”

“We can just go out and win now,” said sophomore Erin Witte, responding to the Cyclones’ losses in their last two games.

Hornbacher said she doesn’t want her team to put itself in a situation where it depends on another team.

“We are striving for wins,” Hornbacher said. “We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where it comes down to someone else getting a win or loss.”

Home field advantage is in the Cyclones’ favor down the stretch. Their combined home record against the Sooners and Cowgirls is 7-1-2.

“Oklahoma is extremely physical; they have talented forwards that are creative and fast. They have a lot of offensive firepower,” Hornbacher said. “Oklahoma is very possession-oriented, they are very organized in their attack. They also have a strong season. We are all battling for the same thing.”

Iowa State beat Oklahoma, 2-1, last year but lost to Oklahoma State by the same margin.

“We lost to them last year,” Witte said of the Cowgirls. “We definitely want to show them who we are this year.”