AMES — Iowa State collected another loss after a hard-fought 3-0 game to No. 17 Iowa in the Cy-Hawk Series. The loss is recorded as the second to a ranked opponent this season and the second in a row to the Hawkeyes.
Gillahan holds strong, but not enough to beat Iowa’s high-flying offense
The Cyclones were outshot 20-0 in the first half of the matchup, the highest number of shots up by Iowa State in the first half this season. Cyclones Goalkeeper Avery Gillahan had her hands full in the first 45 minutes.
“For some reason, we went on the back foot,” Iowa State head coach Matt Fannon said. “That’s something we need to address, as well as showing up in the first half.”
Gillahan recorded a career-high 12 saves on 29 shot attempts. Nine of Gillahan’s 12 saves came in the first half of the game. She laid low in the second half of the matchup, but ultimately made three important saves to keep Iowa off of the board.
“I saw it as my job,” Gillahan said. “Going into the second half, we dialed in and fixed some of the issues we had earlier in the game.”
A controversial goal was scored by the Hawkeyes on a deflection from Cyclones defender Chloe Broughton. The goal, which gave Iowa a 2-0 lead, was credited to forward Maya Hansen.
“It’s a frustrating one to lose,” Broughton said. “It’s one that I will have to go back and look at my position to see if I could have done anything differently.”
Second half offense not enough to take down in-state rival
Iowa State avenged its early struggles, only allowing nine shots on goal in the second half. The Cyclones offense fired off two shots credited to midfielder Yira Yoggerst and forward Magdalena Keck. Neither one of the shots was on target.
“We are incredibly unlucky to not have gotten back in the game in the second half,” Fannon said. “As soon as the women started taking accountability and getting on the front foot, the second half was different.”
With the loss, Iowa State falls to 3-4-2 on the season ahead of its next home matchup against the UCF Knights. The Cyclones will look for their second win in Big 12 conference play, as well as add a boost of momentum going into their next two home matchups.
