Another overtime loss will weigh heavily on the Iowa State soccer team. The Cyclones have had an unfortunate season so far, and according to coach Tony Minatta, it’s time for them to make some adjustments.

Close Calls

Iowa State has played in a lot of close games so far with the outlier being the game in Boulder, Colorado, where the Cyclones lost 3-1 to the Buffalo.

Last Sunday, Iowa State faced off against Milwaukee, and endured perhaps its most demoralizing loss of the season.

The Cyclones had a 0-5-3 record last year in overtime, and this year they have continued the trend with a record of 0-2-1 in overtime.

“We went through it last year,” junior midfielder Hannah Cade said.

This statistic does not include the stunning loss against Purdue, where the Boilermakers scored the game-winning goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation. From a morale standpoint, this can decimate a team and hurt when pressure builds. 

Opfer Out

The Cyclones had to play without redshirt junior midfielder Kasey Opfer on Sunday against Milwaukee after she injured her quad in the Friday game against Iowa.

Freshman standout, Taylor Bee, started in her place on Sunday, and although she has been a nice surprise for the Cyclones, it is never good to lose one of your valuable players, especially with a strong upcoming opponent.

“It definitely hurts not to have [Opfer]… she’s a player that ignites the team,” Minatta said.

Minatta relayed that Opfer will probably not play until Sept. 21 against Texas Christian University (TCU). Her presence was certainly missed in the Milwaukee overtime loss, and the Cyclones will have to find a way to win without her in their next couple of games.

Still Early

As mentioned before, Iowa State has been losing a lot of close games and needs to work on their performance under pressure. Despite this, there is still good news for the Cyclone faithful.

It is early in the season, and Iowa State hasn’t hit conference play yet. The team has a lot of time to turn it around.

“Sometimes [when] we go into Big 12 [play], it’s like people look down on us,” said redshirt senior midfielder Brooke Tasker. 

It can be beneficial for a team to fly under the radar and followers of Iowa State sports saw that last year with the football team.

This is especially true in college sports because there are, essentially, two different seasons: non-conference season and conference season.

Iowa State’s first conference game is the game against TCU on Sept. 21, and luckily for the Cyclones, it doesn’t look like Opfer will miss any conference games.

If the Cyclones can fight the bad luck and start controlling the tempo when it matters most, then this team’s record should start to improve.