Iowa State soccer suffered a 3-0 loss to TCU on Sunday after a slow start hurt its chances of getting back into the game. 

TCU looked very sharp from the beginning and a lack of composure on the ball from the Cyclones hurt them as the Horned Frogs were ready to pounce on any mistake. The combination of speed, strength and intelligence from TCU right out of the gate was too much for the Cyclones in the first half.

Iowa State head coach Matt Fannon was visibly frustrated in the first half, throwing his hands in the air and even going on his knees at one point and looking up in distress.

Fannon mentioned that within the first 30 minutes of the match, the team hadn’t settled in yet and they were punished for it.

“They were better than us all over the field and I think we panicked a little bit in the first half hour,” Fannon said. “We slowly got our way back into the game but by that stage it was a bit too late. I think in the end it was a fair result because we just started so, so slowly.”

TCU freshman Camryn Lancaster opened the scoring within the first five minutes and her speed on and off the ball was a problem for the Cyclones. One drop of the shoulder and she would be away in space and in the first half, the Cyclones could not defend her.

A goal from a corner and a wonder-strike from left-back Brandi Peterson finished off the scoring for the game.

The Cyclones could not create any attacking chances and were on the back foot defensively which left them vulnerable to TCU chances. TCU recorded 16 shots to Iowa State’s four in the first half. 

Iowa State could not defend against the speed of play that TCU was playing and they seemed to always get beat on the dribble. With that, TCU is a very physically strong side and getting the ball off of them was no easy task. 

Fannon also mentioned the ability of the TCU players and the technicality that they display on the ball.  

“Technically, they were cleaner and I think a lot of that was because we panicked in the moments when we were able to win the ball back,” Fannon said.  

“But I think that the other parts is where the game was lost today. Tactically we panicked and put the blinkers on, psychologically I think that it was a game where you saw immediately, it’s ‘oh wow, these guys are bigger, stronger, faster than us’ and it was just a bit of panic.” 

The second half was a much better showing for the team as they did not concede a goal and created a few opportunities going forward. 

Although it was a frustrating match for Fannon and the team, Fannon hopes they are given another opportunity this season to face TCU as the second half was much more even.

“Top to bottom, there’s more that we can do in games like this,” Fannon said. “I hope we get the opportunity to play them again next month and just basically have a better showing for ourselves.”