Iowa State needed a win against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls to keep their Big 12 tournament hopes alive and the Cyclones did precisely what they needed to, as they beat the Cowgirls on the road, 2-0.

Sunday’s matchup was a physical one as there were 28 fouls called, 18 against the Cyclones and ten against the Cowgirls. There was also three yellow cards given, two to the Cowgirls and one to the Cyclones.

Both teams had a couple of good scoring opportunities in the first couple of minutes.

Oklahoma State’s starter goalkeeper Dani Greenlee went down early with an injury and couldn’t return to play, forcing the Cowgirls to sub in their back up goalie Hannah Warner.

In the 27th minute, sophomore defender Shea Sullivan scored her first goal of the year with a shot from 35 yards out to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead.

The Cyclones controlled the pace of play for the most part in the first half and held a 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the 55th minute of play, the Cyclones increased their lead to two with sophomore Kassi Ginther scoring her fourth goal of the season.

Ginther’s goal was set up after senior forward Klasey Medelberg was fouled in the penalty box.

The Cowgirls created some opportunities later in the half, but the Cyclones got some key stops and came out of Stillwater, Oklahoma with a 2-0.

The Cyclones are now 3-13-2 (1-6-1 Big 12), and the Cowgirls now fall to 10-6-1 (2-5-1 Big 12).

Each team has one regular season game left, and only eight of the 10 teams will move on to the Big 12 tournament.

On Thursday, the Cyclones have a pivotal game against the Kansas State Wildcats in Ames.