The ISU soccer team played a pair of double overtime thrillers against Oklahoma schools over the weekend at the ISU Soccer Complex.

The Cyclones defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 3-2, Friday in double overtime and tied the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State 1-1.

The 7-5-1 Sooners traveled to Ames on Friday for a Big 12 conference battle. The Cyclones were coming off back to back weekend loses to Texas A&M and Texas.

The Cyclones struck first when senior Krista Odenwald’s corner kick was headed in by sophomore Katie Antongiovanni 16 minutes into the game. Odenwald’s assist was the 23rd of her career, tying her with Lindsey Rector for first all-time at Iowa State.

In the first half, Iowa State used the wind to its benefit, by outshooting the Sooners 8-1. The Antongiovanni goal was the only of the half, as Iowa State lead 1-0.

The Sooners wasted little time by scoring six minutes into the second half, erasing Iowa State’s 1-0 advantage. The Sooners Jonette Coquat fired a shot that was saved by ISU goalkeeper Beth Chapman, but the ball squirted loose from Chapman, and Heather Martinelli knocked in the rebound tying score.

The Cyclones countered with a beautiful cross-shot by Krista Odenwald, angled perfectly over the Sooner goalie in the 63rd minute. Iowa State took a 2-1 lead, but Oklahoma wasn’t ready to give up yet.

With seven minutes left in regulation, Shannon Wing of the Sooners netted a goal past an outstretched Chapman to even the game at 2-2.

At the end of regulation the score remained tied and was headed for extended play.

The Cyclones held off the Sooners and the wind in a physical first overtime, as neither team scored. A second overtime period was needed to decide the game’s final outcome.

In the 115th minute, Nicole Wilcox headed in a Haley Francis cross for the game winning score and a 3-2 victory. After the goal, Wilcox was mobbed by teammates, as the Cyclones celebrated their second Big 12 win. “The wind was definitely a huge factor in the game, but I thought we did good against it,” said ISU Coach Stephanie Gabbert.

“I thought we matched up well with Oklahoma. Last week we had trouble scoring, so it was nice to get the three goal effort we did today,” she said.

On Sunday, Iowa State played another Oklahoma school in another double overtime nail-biter.

The Cyclones relentlessly attacked the Cowgirls by outshooting them 29-5.

From the start of the game the Cyclones had trouble finishing on scoring opportunities, while the Cowgirls managed to put one of their three first half shots in goal.

In the 34th minute, Kim Graves of Oklahoma State lobbed a shot just overhead of the outstretched arms of Chapman for the goal and a 1-0 half-time lead.

“When you’re down a goal, you really need to fight back twice as hard,” Gabbert said.

The Cyclones came out goal hungry in the second half but continued having trouble finishing. Iowa State rattled off 13 second half shots compared to Oklahoma State’s two but found little success.

With only eight minutes left in the game, a corner kick by Odenwald was knocked around before Arlene Samuel bicycled the ball into the left side for the Cyclones.

The goal was Samuel’s first of the season and couldn’t have come at a better time, as she tied the game 1-1.

After ninety minutes, the score remained tied, and went into overtime.

Iowa State took six shots in the first overtime but couldn’t capitalize. The game continued for a final overtime period. Neither team scored and the match ended in a 1-1 tie.

“You can’t win if you don’t finish,” Gabbert said.

“It was a good game. We had our chances,” Samuel said.

OSU goalie Katherine Doud tallied 13 saves causing a lot of woes for the Cyclone offense throughout the game. “Most of the saves were routine. We kicked the ball right to her most of the time,” Samuel’s said.

The tie snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls are now 3-12-1 and 0-6-1 in the Big 12.

The games improved Iowa State to 6-7-2 overall, and 2-4-1 in the Big 12. The Cyclones head back on the road next weekend, playing at Texas Tech and Colorado.

“These are two tough teams, and we need to win both if we want to make it into the Big 12 Conference Tournament,” Gabbert said.