September 10.

The Iowa State women’s soccer team went down 2-0 in the first half against then-No. 12 USC. In the second half, they shutout the Trojans.

It wasn’t a win, but the Cyclones had a decent showing against a highly regarded team.

Fast forward a week.

September 17.

Iowa State went into halftime with a 1-0 lead on the then-No. 7 Florida Gators on its home turf.

Everything seemed to be going right for the Cyclones, even after the Gators tied the game in the second half. Klasey Medelberg had a plethora of shots on net, and one of them just had to go in.

Though it didn’t. The teams would need overtime to settle the score and Florida scored five minutes in to get away with the victory.

Jump into Big 12 play.

September 22.

Iowa State opens up the conference season on the road against an undefeated, then-No. 17 Texas team.

The team took the Longhorns into the second half with a tie game. After Texas scored four minutes into the second frame, Iowa State didn’t back down. The Cyclones kept pressuring.

Medelberg had a shot go off the cross-bar minutes after her team gave up the lead, and they also put two shots on net in the final minute.

Yet, Iowa State failed to score and lost once more.

Then there’s last Sunday.

The Cyclones took on then-No. 25 Oklahoma State and took the Cowgirls to overtime in a 1-1 knot. Like most overtime games the team has played this season, they had chances to win but still came out on the losing end.

Iowa State has been so close to breaking through and getting a big win over a top 25 team, but they haven’t been able to shut the door all year.

“I think it’s time that we just prove to ourselves that we can do it,” said midfielder Kasey Opfer. “We can finish a game. We’re good enough to beat these teams, because we’re right there.”

The team will get another chance on Friday night, as they travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to face the best in the Big 12 – the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers come into the matchup with a 10-3 record overall and 4-1 mark in Big 12 play.

West Virginia made a trip to the national championship last season, but the team didn’t win it.

“We’re excited for it,” Opfer said. “I think we’re up to the challenge. We’re really looking forward to getting there and we’re looking for a win.”

Iowa State on the other hand matches up with a 2-10-2 overall and 0-4-1 Big 12 record.

“For us, [our record] doesn’t really matter,” said midfielder Marin Daniel. “We’re going to come out super strong and I don’t think they will be expecting it.”

Iowa State hasn’t won a game in their past eight attempts, with its last win being against Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) on September 3.

“We have to let it go,” Daniel said. “We have to move on. If we hang our heads on it, we’re just going to keep losing.”

One thing the team hasn’t been able to accomplish a lot this season is scoring in the first half. The Cyclones have netted a first half goal just three times all year. Of those three first half goals, two have come against those ranked teams.

Though the odds are against the Cyclones, a victory would be helpful for the team this weekend if they want to make it to the Big 12 Tournament.

The top eight teams in the conference will make it to the playoffs in November, but Iowa State is currently sitting in the bottom two that would be forced to stay home.

“Every game from here on out is pretty big,” said junior defender Jordan Enga. “Getting a win will really give us that push and I think we need that to be successful throughout the rest of the season.

The Cyclones will play Kansas State on October 27 – who sits in the other elimination spot at the moment – but other than that, they might not see another team on the bottom half of the standings.

“We can’t depend on other [teams] so it’s going to have to come from us,” Daniel said.

Iowa State and West Virginia will kick off the match on Friday night at 6 p.m. in Morgantown, and the importance of it isn’t being understated.

“This is a game that we need to win,” Opfer said.