Iowa State soccer faced disappointment this weekend with a couple losses, one of which came in the final nine seconds of regulation.

With a full season ahead, coach Tony Minatta will need to make adjustments after only winning one of the first four games.

Defensive prowess

The Cyclones matched up against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday, who had only given up one goal combined in their first two games. Iowa State was held to only three shots, one of which was on goal, and the Wildcats only surrendered one corner kick.

Northwestern is ranked No. 19 in the nation and now after their 0-0 draw on Sunday against West Virginia, they have only five goals of their own through four undefeated games. The Cyclones ran into a brick wall.

Keeping a foot on the gas

Iowa State outshot both South Dakota State and Missouri last weekend and it looked like its game plan was to keep pushing on offense, but Northwestern took them out of their comfort zone and made them play more selective, which ultimately fell apart. This trend continued on Sunday when Iowa State only put up eight shots on Purdue.

The team showed up almost exclusively for the first half and left their goaltender to save them in the second. If the Cyclones expect to get back in the win column, they will have to start with renewed aggressiveness.

Costly mistakes

A lot of the problems that have occurred for the Cyclones so far can be attributed to misfortune. However, there have been some key errors that have come towards the ends of matches when the pressure starts to mount.

Last Sunday against Missouri saw an own goal decide the game in overtime, and now this Sunday saw a late comeback that was fueled by a penalty kick and a free kick at inopportune times. Iowa State’s record might not be a perfect indicator of how this season is going to turn out.