The Cyclone women’s soccer team played host to the North Dakota State Bisons on Friday and the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Sunday, and came away with a win and a loss.

The Cyclone’s are young, but on Friday they showed that what they lack in experience, they make up for in heart. Iowa State started six freshmen out of eleven starters against the Bisons on Friday, and came away with a thrilling 3-1 overtime victory.

Iowa State was led by forward Jo Hinks, who collected a hat trick by scoring all three goals for the Cyclones.

The first half of the game was spent mostly in Panther territory with the Cyclones taking ten shots on goal compared to two by the Panthers. The first goal of the game came on a Hinks shot that sailed over the head of Panther goal keeper Margaret Palo.

In the second half the Cyclones still took more shots than the Panthers, but none found the net. Eastern Illinois evened the score at 1-1 with eight minutes left on a goal by forward Nicole VandenBos.

The game was sent into overtime, and the Cyclones turned up the intensity by not allowing a single shot on goal. Hinks took the game over seven minutes into overtime by scoring her second goal of the game, and added her third only a minute later.

Cyclone Head Coach Cathy Klein described Hinks’ play as natural instinct. “Hinks is a natural goal scorer with powerful speed,” Klein said.

The second game of the weekend proved to be a tough one for the ‘Clones. Eastern Illinois applied constant pressure by keeping the ball in Cyclone territory for most of the first half.

Throughout the first half the Cyclones looked a step slower than on Friday. Iowa State goalkeeper Lauren Muser showed flashes of brilliance with an array of saves in goal.

Iowa State suffered a big loss in the first half when forward Jocelyn Nordstrom went down with a sprained right ankle. “That was a huge loss, Jocelyn is the anchor of this team,” Klein said. “She is everything we want from our players, hard-nosed, driven to win the ball and always gives 100 percent. When we lost her we lost our heart.”

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a penalty kick rebound.

In the second half Iowa State was held to only two shots by the Panthers. Eastern Illinois increased the lead to 2-0 on a goal by forward Tracy Strother.

The game ended with a 2-0 Panther win, and a very unhappy Cyclone head coach.

“All of this is new and we are a young program,” Klein said. “They grossly underestimated this opponent.”

Klein was happy with the play of her reserves and considered it a building block for the rest of the season.