Cyclones Drop Home Match to No. 8 TCU

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State dropped Sunday afternoon's soccer match at the Cyclone Sports Complex to eighth-ranked TCU, 4-1, in the penultimate regular season contest.

ISU (3-9-5, 1-5-3 Big 12) was unable to hold back the league's best offense, as it allowed its most goals in a match this season, tying the Memphis game earlier in the year. No. 8 TCU (13-2-2, 8-0-2) continued its perfection in conference play, earning its sixth win by multiple scores in the last seven matches.

Four Cyclones recorded multiple shots on the day, with seven different athletes recording attempts on goal. Lauren McConnell broke through in the 76th minute to put Iowa State on the board and give the team its first goal of October. In her return from a league-mandated one-game suspension for receiving her fifth yellow card, Isabella Agrusso played the full 90 minutes, along with Lauren Hernandez. Avery Gillahan collected her eighth match with at least six saves, nabbing another six-goal outing.

TCU's Bella Diorio had five points on the day, tying the most by an opposing player against ISU all season. Diorio recorded a brace and notched an assist to lead the nationally ranked Frogs. AJ Hennessey and Caroline Kelly also recorded scores on the day. Starting TCU keeper Megan Plaschko had five saves in 72 minutes before being relieved.

The Horned Frogs held a 23-12 shot advantage over ISU, as well as a 10-7 shot on goal discrepancy. Both teams had six saves and a pair of corner kicks, while TCU earned one more foul, 9-8.

How it Happened
TCU wasted no time on a warm October afternoon, converting its second shot of the day with a score in the seventh minute of play. Seven Castain and Bella Diorio had a two-on-one, coming through with the icebreaker.

The Horned Frogs continued to be aggressive, ripping off six more shots in the first 21 minutes, but were continually turned away by both the Cyclone backline and keeper.

Both teams would battle back and forth the rest of the half, but neither would be able to convert as the score sat at 1-0 in favor of TCU at the break.

The second half started much like the first, with the top-ten Frogs flexing their muscles. TCU piled on two more goals in the first six minutes of the second stanza, putting ISU in a 3-0 hole.

TCU would score one more time, in the 60th minute, to make it 4-0. McConnell gave ISU its first home goal since Sept. 5 in the 76th minute to avoid the shutout.

Iowa State will need to beat Baylor on Friday and have some other results go in their favor to make the Big 12 Championships.

Fannon's Thoughts
"The tough thing is that we knew they'd be better than us in transition. They're quicker and we knew if those spaces opened up that they'd hit us on the break. Outside of that phase, the whole game, them hitting us outside of our defensive transition … it wasn't that far away."

Goals
Iowa State: Lauren McConnell – 76' (2)
TCU: Bella Diorio 2 – 7' & 51' (10), AJ Hennessey – 48' (4), Caroline Kelly – 60' (10)

Assists
Iowa State: N/A
TCU: Seven Castain (5), Oli Pena (9), AJ Hennessey (2), Bella Diorio (4)

Up Next
Iowa State will return to the Cyclone Sports Complex for the final time in 2024 next Friday, as they are set to host the Baylor Bears in the regular season finale. Next Friday's match is set to begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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Team Stats

Lauren McConnell

Morgan Furmaniak

Magdalena Keck

Ella Ciardullo

Players Mentioned

Isabella Agrusso

Avery Gillahan

Lauren Hernandez

Lauren McConnell

Players Mentioned

Isabella Agrusso

Avery Gillahan

Lauren Hernandez

Lauren McConnell

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics