Iowa State fell to No. 24 West Virginia 1-0 on Thursday. With the win, West Virginia remains undefeated against the Cyclones in the all-time series at 13-0.
The Cyclones fall to 4-8-3 overall and 1-7-1 in conference play, while the Mountaineers move to 11-2-3 and 6-0-3 in the Big 12.
With the loss, Iowa State is officially eliminated from contention for the Big 12 Tournament.
Iowa State nearly jumps to early lead
The game began in dramatic fashion as the Cyclones nearly scored in the first minute. After a well-placed cross, senior forward Ella Ciardullo found herself inside the box with the ball in a one-on-one scenario with the goalkeeper.
As Ciardullo, who had limited space, fired off a shot, goaltender Bailey Herfurth was able to make a save and stop the Mountaineers from falling behind nearly immediately.
After the hot start, the action cooled off a bit, but Iowa State maintained momentum and freshman forward Megan Walters logged the next shot in the 10th minute, but it bounced off the bar and out. The near miss continues a trend for the Cyclones, who had hit the bar six times in their past two outings going into the match.
West Virginia takes control
The momentum started to swing as the Mountaineers began to mount pressure on the Cyclones. After Walters’ attempt, West Virginia turned it around with a quick shot that was blocked.
This resulted in a quick sequence of three straight corner kicks for West Virginia and a pair of shots that were stopped by the Cyclones.
The Mountaineers continued to apply pressure and, after a foul on Walters, were able to convert and take the lead. Taylor White perfectly crossed the ball to Anna Hauer, who scored on a one-touch goal to the bottom right corner of the net. The goal came in the 22nd minute.
The game remained 1-0 at halftime.
Cyclones stifled in second half
When the game resumed for the second half, Iowa State was unable to generate a sustained attack. They logged just two shots in the final 45 minutes. West Virginia generated 10 shots in the back half, but only put two on net.
Redshirt sophomore goaltender Kasey Cannistraro leapt to the left side of the goal to make an excellent save in the 74th minute and keep the deficit 1-0.
When all was said and done, despite holding them to one goal, Iowa State was unable to upset the Mountaineers and was eliminated from contention for the Big 12 Championship.
The Cyclones next travel to Cincinnati for a matchup against the Bearcats at noon Sunday.
