After a 10-7-1 regular season record, including a 5-5 record in conference play, the Iowa State women’s soccer team headed to San Antonio, Texas, to play in the Big 12 Conference Soccer Championships on Nov. 5.

Texas A&M would provide the opposition in the first round of the tournament for the Cyclones.

This would be the second meeting of the season for the teams, as the Cyclones lost to the Aggies 2-0 on Oct. 4.

Nevertheless, history repeated itself as the Cyclones were unable to withstand a three-goal performance by Aggie forward Nicky Thrasher, ending their season with a 6-0 loss.

Head Coach Cathy Klein conceded that the Aggies were the better team on that day.

“Anytime you play a nationally ranked opponent, you have to respect them,” Klein said. “We were improved from the first game, but they were far superior to what they were in the middle of the season.”

Even though the squad was shut out, Klein said the score was not indicative of the performance of her team.

“The score is no indication go where our program is at, but of how good Texas A&M is,” Klein said. “It (the score) looks like we didn’t show up, but the truth is that they have an outstanding program, and we’re not at that level yet.”

Before that, however, the squad needed to first qualify to play in the tournament.

Making this task even harder is the fact that the tournament field features only the top six teams in the Big 12.

Coming off of three consecutive wins against Kansas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, the Cyclones played at No. 16 Baylor on Oct. 30 with an opportunity to qualify for the postseason.

However, two goals by Molly Cameron and a third from Rachel Kacsmaryk of Baylor ended the Cyclones hopes for victory, leading to a 3-0 loss.

Proof of the tough opposition provided by Baylor is illustrated by the fact that the Cyclones managed only two shots on goal during the entire game, Klein said.

“The 3-0 score was an indication of where we are (as a program) in relation to them,” Klein said. “Baylor is a great team.”

The Cyclones, with one last regular season game, had a final shot to qualify Nov. 1 at Texas Tech.

With a doubt, Klein said, the team needed this victory.

“This was a must-win situation,” Klein said. “Our back was against the wall.”

And despite being outshot in the game 17-6, the Cyclones responded with a 3-0 victory.

Sophomore forward Patti Reed scored the first goal for the Cyclones at 16:58 on an assist from junior midfielder Lindsey Rector.

Rector put the Cyclones up at halftime 2-0 with a goal of her own at 33:34.

The scoring barrage ended with freshman Erica Florez’s team-leading tenth goal of the season at 71:55.

“I was surprised at the lopsided score, but it was still a great win,” Klein said.

Klein said the victory was a testament to her players drive to succeed, as the squad managed to win despite several injuries to key players.

“Lindsey Rector broke her toe, Patti Reed suffered a concussion and Erica got a bruised hip, so we were a little banged up,” Klein said. “We still pulled it out, though.”

In defeating the Red Raiders, the squad tied for fourth place in the conference, qualifying for the postseason tournament.

Seeded sixth due to regular season losses to Texas and Missouri, who owned identical 5-5 conference records, the team prepared to face off with the third-seeded Texas A&M Aggies.

In the end, Nebraska, on the heels of an upset of top-seeded Baylor, would go on to win the tournament in San Antonio.

On the whole, Klein said that this season was largely successful for the Cyclones.

“Our first goal was to establish great team chemistry, and we did; our second goal was to get a relentless commitment to the program from our team, and we did that, too. Our third goal was to improve our conference record, and we did that,” Klein said.

“Our final goal was to win the Big 12 championship and, even though we were unable to get that done, we are in a better position to do that now,” she said.

Overall, the team finished with a winning record at 10-8-1. Their 5-5 conference record was the best in team history, and they qualified for the postseason tournament for the second consecutive year.

In addition to leading the team in scoring and game-winning goals, Florez captured honors as Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Year. She also earned spots on the all-tournament team and the all-conference second team.

Klein said she was overjoyed with Florez’s performance this season and looks forward to the future.

“We are so excited about Erica,” Klein said. “She had an awesome year, and her best soccer is in front of her.”

Rector led the team in assists with six, and freshman goalkeeper Lynley Hilligoss played most of the minutes in goal for the squad.

With the loss of just one senior, defender Ann Davy, the squad will return the nucleus of this season’s squad.

This gives Klein reasons for optimism for next season.

“We had an outstanding year and improved greatly,” Klein said. “We are much more prepared to win than a year ago.”