A 4-0 defeat to the Wisconsin Badgers Sunday afternoon handed the ISU soccer team its first loss of the season and vanquished the Cyclones’ hopes of winning the Cyclone Classic.

“Wisconsin came out and played a really strong game and cashed in on some set play [corner kick and free kick] opportunities,” interim head coach Rebecca Hornbacher said.

The Cyclones came out of the gates fairly strong, but Wisconsin drew first blood at the 11:27 mark when Jenny Kundert, the Overall MVP of the classic, gave Sarah Capel a drop pass. Capel shot hard past ISU goalie Beth Chapman for the goal.

As the first half progressed, Wisconsin began to dominate the play.

Shortly after the the 43-minute mark, Chapman misjudged and mishandled a high Wisconsin kick sending the ball out of bounds, giving Wisconsin a corner kick. The Cyclones paid dearly for the mistake when Molly Meuer converted on the corner kick from Erin Dubina at 43:49 to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead.

Iowa State came out strong the first ten minutes of the second half with many scoring chances, but were unable to convert. Wisconsin scored again at 66:05 when Bethany Heine placed a free kick around “the wall” to Kundert to increase the Badgers lead to 3-0.

Kundert struck again at 81:33 when she booted a kick past a diving Chapman to give the Badgers their fourth goal of the game. The Badgers were able to contain the Cyclones the rest of the game and won 4-0.

Hornbacher said other keys to the Cyclones’ loss was that Wisconsin beat them to the ball, won 50/50’s and airballs more often, and outplayed the Cyclones physically.

“Wisconsin pushed us around today,” Hornbacher said. “It’s a reality check to our girls.”

The loss to Wisconsin followed a 2-1 victory over the University of Northern Iowa on Friday, in which the Cyclones outshot the Panthers 24-4. The win still disappointed the ISU players, because they felt they could do better than to allow the Panthers a one-goal loss.

The loss marked the first time the soccer team had lost a game in the Cyclone Classic, which the Cyclones won in 1999 and 2000. The University of Arizona won the tournament this year.

Freshman forward Deb Benakis and junior defenseman Lindsey Lees were named to the Cyclone Classic All-Tournament Team.

“It’s a nice honor, but it’s more about the team,” Benakis said. “We’ll take the loss in stride and go out this week and work hard.”

The Cyclones next home game is Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. against the University of Minnesota.