The Iowa State women’s soccer team had a successful weekend by winning both of its games. The Cyclones collected their first Big 12 victory on Friday with a 1-0 win over Oklahoma, and the second win came against Minnesota-Duluth with the Cyclones prevailing 2-0.

The game between ISU and Oklahoma got off to a quick start when the ‘Clones grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by freshman forward Jun Shen. The goal came on ISU’s first shot attempt of the game.

The Cyclones kept the Sooners’ defenders busy the rest of the game by taking 23 shots on goal. The Sooners only managed to get off eight shots.

ISU head coach Kathy Klein considered her team fortunate to grab its win against the Sooners. “I think it got the team started in a positive direction,” Klein said. “We have to be able to compete with every team in the Big 12.”

The second game for the Cyclones was a very physical one, and it seemed to have an effect on ISU, who looked passive in the first half. The first half was a scoreless battle of defenses. The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs kept a large amount of pressure on ISU defenders by keeping the ball in Cyclone territory for most of the first period.

Cyclone goalie Lauren Muser gave a tremendous effort and made some spectacular saves. One of those saves came in the form of a leaping tap away that looked to be a Bulldog goal.

“Lauren played brilliantly when the score was 0-0,” Klein said. “She made the best save I’ve ever seen her make, and that save put us into a position to win.”

The second half showcased a completely different ISU team. The Cyclones became much more aggressive and it showed when it came time to win balls from the opponent.

Freshman forward Barb Lavergne was a force for the Cyclones, winning balls and making spectacular passes. Lavergne also revealed to ISU fans another talent that she possesses, acting.

Lavergne was seemingly taken down inside the Duluth’s goalie box by a Bulldog defender. Lavergne was on the ground in what looked like excruciating pain until the referee blew his whistle and signaled a penalty kick. The whistle seemed to be a remedy to Lavergne’s pain, because she immediately got up and ran to “high five” one of her teammates.

Freshman midfielder Lindsey Rector gave ISU a 1-0 lead when she nailed the penalty kick into the Bulldog goal.

The second goal for the Cyclones came on a Lavergne pass to Shen who sent the ball sailing into the Bulldog net to give ISU a 2-0 lead.

Coach Klein was happy with her team’s physical play. “It was more physical than we are accustomed to, but they are going to have to get used to it,” Klein said. “That is the physical level that this game is played at.”

The Cyclones are now 5-3, with a 1-1 record in conference. ISU faces Kansas-Newman on Wednesday.