Ames Today

Iowa State University's women's soccer team lost its penultimate home match of the season to Houston, falling 2-1 on Thursday evening in Ames. The Cyclones, now 4-7-2 overall and 1-6 in the Big 12, started strong with an early goal but could not maintain their lead.

Megan Walters put Iowa State ahead just over a minute into the game, converting a long pass from Isabella Agrusso with a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. Houston responded quickly, equalizing less than two minutes later. The Cougars took the lead in the 35th minute and maintained it for the rest of the match.

Walters' goal was her second in as many games, tying her for the team lead in both points (7) and goals (3). She has scored in three of Iowa State's four home Big 12 matches this season and attempted a game-high seven shots against Houston. Teammate Ella Ciardullo had four shots, while Lucy Froitzheim contributed two shots on target. Goalkeeper Kasey Cannistraro made six saves.

For Houston, Amaris Bumba and Madyson Bentil each scored their second goals of the season. Ava Shannon provided an assist and led the Cougars with four shots, sharing the team lead in shots on goal with Bentil. Goalkeeper Maggie Manning recorded two saves.

Iowa State outshot Houston 19-12, marking its highest shot total since September 7, and held a seven-shot advantage. Houston had more corner kicks (6-3), while Iowa State made more saves (6-3).

Reflecting on the match, head coach Matt Fannon said, "Outside of the result being a negative, I'd say everything else was a positive tonight. We created so many chances and defended really well in all but three or four moments. We got the game plan right, and everyone was firing on all cylinders. It's difficult to take a result like this on the chin when it felt like we were nearly perfect."

Iowa State will conclude its home schedule against Arizona State on Sunday, October 19. The match will begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.