Before the ISU soccer team staged a dramatic win over Big 12 Conference rival Baylor on Sunday, the Cyclones took some time to honor their parents.

All players’ parents who attended Sunday’s match were presented with a rose from their child.

The honor capped off “Parents Weekend” for the Cyclones, a time when parents visit Iowa State to experience the university for themselves.

“We had a barbecue yesterday, tailgated for the football game,” head soccer coach Stephanie Gabbert said.

The Cyclones usually honor their parents on a weekend when there will be a home football game.

Gabbert said it gives the parents a good chance to experience life at Iowa State.

Parents Weekend is very important for both players and their families, Gabbert said.

“Our players are very close with their families, and we have a lot of support from our families,” she said. “So it’s great to get everybody together.”

For players like Lindsey Lees, who came here to play soccer all the way from Aurora, Colorado, Parents Weekend is a great excuse for families to make the trip to Ames.

Lees, a sophomore, said this weekend was one of the few times she gets to see her family.

“It’s awesome,” she said. “They’re my biggest supporters and I love them. They make trips out as much as they can, but they’re both teachers, so it’s hard for them to get off days during the week. They’re my biggest fans.”

Lees’s parents had plenty to cheer about Sunday.

The Cyclones came back from a 1-0 deficit to beat Baylor 2-1 in the Cyclones’ Big 12 Conference opener.

Nikki Gamble scored the game winning goal with just 17 seconds remaining in the first overtime period.

The goal came when Gamble, a freshman midfielder, scuffled for the ball with Baylor defenders and managed to clear herself some shooting room.

“I was just like `oh my gosh, I gotta shoot it. I gotta shoot it,'” Gamble said. The coaches have been getting on me to shoot more and take it more to goal, be hungrier for goal. So it was like, `I got a little space, so I’ll shoot.'”

The Cyclones had to fight just to force overtime.

When Baylor scored early in the second half, it looked like one goal might be enough to beat the Cyclones.

That all changed with 13:23 remaining, when Nicole Wilcox broke away from the field and made a brilliant pass to Sarah Kovarik, who tapped the ball into a wide-open net for the goal.

The goal tied the game and forced overtime.

Coach Gabbert said Sunday’s victory was important for the Cyclones.

“It gives us a huge boost of confidence,” Gabbert said. Our team has realized that we’ve been playing better and better as the season goes on, but I think a lot of times for players the validation is winning. But that’s really happening, and this helps them to believe it more.”

Gabbert said the team was still working on some problems with its offense.

“There really is one thing I could fault our team on, and that’s not finishing our chances,” she said.

“That’s been our problem a little bit so far this season. We can’t put ourselves under this much pressure for 90 minutes and more.”