The Iowa State football team wasn’t alone last weekend in its Lone Star struggles.

The Cyclone soccer team got shut out by a pair of Texas squads at the ISU Soccer Complex.

Friday, the Texas Longhorns beat ISU 4-0 as light rain fell and wind chills dipped into the 30’s. Texas grabbed the lead in the 22nd minute on a flashy goal by leading-scorer Katie Baruth. Alanna Makinano found the net ten minutes later as Texas took a 2-0 halftime lead.

After the break, ISU continued to struggle with getting the ball into Texas territory as the Longhorns widened the gap. Goals by Nicole Ramirez at 49 minutes and Melissa Rubey with less than 10 minutes to play provided the final margin. Texas outshot ISU 17-11.

“Texas beat us in every capacity. We did not deserve to win,” ISU Coach Cathy Klein said. “It was a situation of our young players not making the right decisions at critical times.”

Texas improved to 3-4 with the win and ISU dropped to 5-4-1 (0-2 in Big 12).

Despite the first back-to-back loss of the season, Klein did see some positives. Freshman Erica Florez, who was the Big 12 player of the week for Sept. 21, continued to flash her big-play potential.

“My mind, body and soul will always be with Erica Florez winning games. She’s as talented a freshman as I’ve come across,” Klein said.

Klein also praised the Cyclone reserves, including sophomore goalkeeper Beth Leimer, who saw her first action of the season late in the second half and notched two quick saves.

Sunday, the weather wasn’t much better and neither was the outcome.

No. 12 Texas A&M, the defending Big 12 champion, handed ISU its third consecutive loss, 2-0, as a cold, gusty wind whipped across the field.

A&M struck first in the 27th minute when Nicky Thrasher snuck a direct kick past ISU goalkeeper Lynley Hilligoss into the left corner of the net. ISU moved into Aggies’ territory several times early in the second half but managed few shots and never scored.

A&M’s Sharon Pickering sealed the game with an unassisted goal at 69:10.

Florez again had several breakaways and narrowly-missed scoring chances for ISU.

She said, “They [A&M] are faster and stronger, but I thought we did a pretty good job and contained them very well. We had quite a few opportunities and we just have to work on finishing.”

Klein said the game demonstrated that the Cyclones can compete with anybody, but still haven’t discovered how to win a big game.

“I’m excited on one hand and disappointed on the other,” she said. “We’re at the stage where we’re not happy nor content with [just] competing.

“We are in and out of games because of our inexperience in pressure situations. It has started to leave a sour taste in our mouth, and that’s good. It means we’re learning.”

A&M outshot ISU 22-4 as Aggie goalkeeper Melanie Wilson had an uneventful afternoon with only one save.

In the Cyclones’ goal, Hilligoss snared nine saves — including several spectacular dives and grabs.

“Those were huge-time saves,” Klein said.

The Aggies (6-4, 1-1 Big 12) evened ISU’s overall record at 5-5-1 (0-3 in Big 12). The Cyclones now are 0-6 all-time against Texas and Texas A&M.

ISU plays only once in the next 12 days, hosting Colorado at 4 p.m. Friday. Klein welcomes the break from game action.

“Thank God,” she said. “We need to put some serious time into practice. [The Colorado game] is a big one. We have to win that game.”

To qualify for the Big 12 Tournament next month, ISU must finish in the top six of the conference.