This past weekend, the Iowa State women’s soccer team split a pair of conference games at Missouri and Kansas.

On Friday, October 16, the squad fell to Missouri, 7-2. The Tigers took the early lead after an Erin Grimsley goal at 4:51 in the first half.

The Tigers continued to pounce on the Cyclones, getting two more goals in the first half from Nikki Thole and Jennifer Maunder to make the score 3-0 at halftime.

Thole added another goal for the Tigers at 63:32 to increase the scoring deficit to 4-0 in favor of the Tigers.

ISU got its first goal of the game at 60:33, when junior forward Jun Shen took a pass from freshman Erica Florez to score her first goal of the season and make the score 4-1.

However, Missouri’s relentlessness shined through, as the Tigers scored two consecutive goals, Thole’s third goal and another from Kristin Boeker to increase the score to 6-1.

Junior midfielder Lindsey Rector scored her third goal of the season for the Cyclones at 65:49 to lower the deficit to 6-2, but another goal from Grimsley put the Tigers ahead to stay at 7-2.

Head Coach Cathy Klein said the game was a definite low point for herself and the team this season.

“The score is indicative of the performance,” Klein said. “At every level, we were soundly beat. This was the low point of my season, my coaching career and their (the players) season.”

Despite the poor performance, Klein said the team had to renew its focus in order to defeat Kansas.

“We took the Missouri loss in an ‘everybody has a bad day at the office’ manner,” Klein said. “It’s not what you did yesterday but how you deal with it today and tomorrow that matters most, so we had to let the chips fall and perform better.”

Perform better they did, shutting out the Jayhawks 1-0 on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Junior defender Alicia Rollison scored the first goal of her career with less than eight minutes left in the game to give the Cyclones the shutout victory.

Freshman Jenelle Brandt took a corner kick in the 82nd minute, and Rollison tapped in the goal for the game-winning score.

“We knew it was going to require a special effort and commitment to win, and Alicia has proven all year that she is willing to do that,” Klein said. “She believes in the system and found a way to score the goal. It was definitely a defining moment for us.”

Combined with Rollison’s timely goal, Klein said freshman goalkeeper Lynley Hilligoss made three brilliant saves for the Cyclones when the game was scoreless to maintain the shutout. Hilligoss ended the game with six saves.

“This game was a test of our character; we were playing at their park, and it was senior and parents day, which could have given us three excuses for defeat,” Klein said. “We were outshot, and we still found a way to win. It was a tribute to our kids’ effort.”

With an overall record of 7-6-1 and a 2-4 conference record, the Cyclones head into this weekend set for the final home games of the season.

The Cyclones take on Oklahoma on Friday at 4 p.m. and Oklahoma State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the ISU Soccer Complex.

Both will be huge games for the Cyclones, Klein said, and the team must be prepared to do what it takes to win.

“Both teams are very good and are capable of beating us, but there are no real bad teams in the Big 12, so our hands are going to be full,” Klein said. “It’s a matter of our offensive ability to score and attack because we must take pressure off our young goalkeeper and defense. We must fight for everything we have and want to achieve.”