Thursday’s Iowa State soccer matchup against Houston featured two teams that were looking for their first Big 12 conference win of the season.
The game saw a hard-fought battle that was exactly even in possession total of 50/50. Houston struck first in the 49th minute with a goal by Aryanna Jimison. The Cyclones fought back, tying the match in the 70th minute by Olivia Edwards, her first of the season.
Iowa State found the back of the net once more in the 85th minute by Salomé Prat, her third of the season, which gave the Cyclones the win.
Here are the three big takeaways from the Cyclones’ first conference win of the season.
First half dominance
Though the first half of the match between Houston and Iowa State was 0-0 at the break, the Cyclones really had control of most of it.
At the break, the Cyclones led 5-2 in total shots, a 3-0 lead in shots on goal, had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks and held the ball for 57% of the first half.
Cyclone’s offense comes alive in the second half
The past two games saw the Cyclones get shutout in both affairs. For most of the night, it looked like it would stay that way. However, a late rally by the Cyclones got the offense going.
In the 70th minute, Edwards scored her first goal of the season off of a foul by Houston. That tied the game, and it looked like the game was heading for overtime.
But, in the 85th minute, Prat found the back on the net for her third of the season off of a breakaway, which gave the Cyclones the win.
Fouls still an issue for the Cyclones
In the past two games, fouls have plagued the Cyclones. In the first half of tonight’s game, it looked like they had got the fouling under control.
Houston had the lead for fouls at the break, 8-5, but the second half was a different story. In the second half, the Cyclone’s old habits returned as they got called for nine more fouls than the Cougars, including two yellow cards.
At the end of the game, Iowa State tallied 16 fouls to Houston’s 10, but even with the fouls, the Cyclones pulled out the victory. However, the fouling issue is still something Iowa State needs to clean up before the team’s next game Monday.
The Cyclones will be back in action at 6 p.m. Monday when they take on the No.6-ranked BYU Cougars in Ames.
