Iowa State soccer continues its road trip to Fort Worth, Texas at 1 p.m. Sunday against No. 7 TCU. After losing three straight games, the Cyclones will look to right the ship against the Horned Frogs.
The Cyclones are 4-4-2 this year. They won their last two non-conference games over North Dakota and Northern Iowa before knocking off Arizona to begin Big 12 play. The hot streak was the first time they had won three straight since 2016.
Since that high point, it’s been a rocky stretch for the team. After the win over Arizona, they lost 3-1 to Colorado and then 2-0 to Texas Tech.
In its last outing, Iowa State lost 3-0 to No. 20 Baylor. The Bears dominated the game, putting 10 shots on goal compared to the Cyclones’ three.
Last season, the Cyclones won their first conference game over Kansas and then were unable to secure another victory for the rest of the season. While this season has begun the same way, there are still many chances to make sure that is not the same story this year.
The next opportunity comes against a strong Horned Frogs team. TCU is 9-2 this season, with notable wins over No. 9 Iowa and No. 14 Kansas. However, the team lost its most recent game 3-1 to Colorado on Thursday. This could be a great chance for Iowa State to get a signature win while TCU is still recovering from that loss that came in a physical game.
Senior forward Seven Castain leads the team offensively. Castain was an All-Big 12 First Team in 2024, and has not slowed down this season, picking up Big 12 Player of the Week honors multiple times. She has scored nine goals and two assists so far.
There is no doubt that the Cyclones are the underdogs in this matchup, but they have proven to be a scrappy team that can pull out a win against the odds. Early in the season, in back-to-back games, they scored huge goals in the final two minutes. The first was against Creighton to secure a 1-0 victory, and they scored again in the final minute to tie Drake 1-1.
Iowa State has never beaten TCU in Fort Worth. It is 0-5-1 on the road against the Horned Frogs. In the overall series history, the Cyclones are 2-9-3, with their last win over TCU coming on Halloween in 2014.
A win Sunday could do wonders for an Iowa State team that seemed to be primed for one of its most successful seasons in the last decade. It would do away with the narrative that formed in Big 12 play last season and prove that the Cyclones can be a team that rises to the occasion against tough opponents.
The Cyclones will look to bounce back against TCU at the Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Fort Worth at 1 p.m. Sunday. The match will air on ESPN+.
