How to Watch No. 20 BYU at Iowa State Soccer

Iowa State has not won a Big 12 match. It also made Kansas wait until the 87th minute for one goal, then watched goalkeeper Eme McClenahan make 12 saves against Kansas State.

That is the trap waiting for No. 20 BYU in Ames. The Cougars visit Iowa State at 5 p.m. Mountain on Monday, Oct. 26, at Cyclone Sports Complex. ESPN+ will stream the match, StatBroadcast will carry the official live stats, and admission is free according to Iowa State Athletics. BYU’s stable schedule ID is 25214.

BYU is 9-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in the Big 12 after a 1-1 draw at Kansas. Iowa State is 4-8-4 and 0-6-2 in league play after a 1-0 home loss to Kansas State. The records point one way. The recent game shapes say BYU may still have to earn every useful touch around the box.

BYU-Iowa State watch information

The official BYU event record lists 2026-10-26 at 23:00 UTC, which converts to 5 p.m. Mountain and 6 p.m. Central. BYU’s schedule provides the same start, Cyclone Sports Complex venue, ESPN+ player and StatBroadcast feed. Iowa State’s schedule and latest recap independently list the 6 p.m. Central kickoff and ESPN+ stream.

Neither school has published a radio option. The direct ESPN player may redirect by device or account, so keep the permanent BYU schedule page handy if the player URL changes.

The standings make a quiet road match expensive

BYU and Kansas left Thursday tied for second in the Big 12 with 17 points after their draw. Texas Tech and Baylor moved ahead by winning elsewhere. BYU has Iowa State, Utah and Arizona State left in the regular season, while the conference tournament accepts eight teams.

That gives Monday two separate jobs. BYU needs points to protect its place near the top of the table, and it needs a cleaner road performance before closing with two matches at South Field.

The Cougars have taken four points from this road stretch so far: a 1-0 win at Cincinnati, a 1-1 draw at Kansas and a 2-0 loss at West Virginia. They have shown that they can score early, survive a narrow match and recover after conceding. They have not yet shown that they can control all 90 minutes away from Provo.

Iowa State’s conference record does not remove the cost of a mistake. The Cyclones drew Utah and Arizona State 1-1. At Arizona State, they were outshot 29-4 and played the final 15 minutes with 10 players, yet McClenahan and the crossbar preserved a point. At Kansas, they held a scoreless draw for more than 86 minutes. BYU cannot treat possession as progress if every attack ends with a comfortable save or a harmless clearance.

McClenahan changes the value of the first shot

Kansas State took 20 shots at Iowa State on Thursday and placed 14 on goal. McClenahan stopped 12 herself, a career high, and the Cyclones’ official recap credited the team with 13 saves. The Wildcats won 1-0, but that score stayed available to Iowa State until the final whistle.

McClenahan had already shown the same capacity at Arizona State with 10 saves in a 1-1 draw. She also made nine at Kansas before the Jayhawks finally scored from their 23rd shot and 10th corner.

BYU should not respond by chasing volume for its own sake. Eight shots on target at Kansas produced one goal because Sophie Dawe handled the direct attempts and the Jayhawks blocked three late shots. A first effort matters most when it changes the next action: a save pushed into traffic, a defender turned toward her own goal or a rebound that another Cougar can attack.

Emma Hamberlin supplied that kind of problem in Lawrence. Mika Krommenhoek drove down the left and sent the ball into the box; Hamberlin’s shot took a deflection and became her fifth goal. The finish did not ask the goalkeeper to lose a clean one-on-one duel. It made the defense react in a crowded space.

Watch BYU’s spacing around McClenahan rather than the raw shot count. If every Cougar arrives on the same horizontal line, Iowa State can defend the first ball and leave nobody available for the second. One runner at the near post, one delayed near the penalty spot and one player outside the box gives BYU three different ways to keep an attack alive.

The Cougars also need to make McClenahan move before they shoot. Krommenhoek’s pass to Hamberlin did that at Kansas. Crosses cut behind the first defender, diagonal carries and a final pass across goal will tell us more than another attempt from a stationary position.

Iowa State’s attack is spread thin, not absent

Iowa State entered the Kansas State match with 17 goals from 12 different players. Alaina Villa and Megan Walters led the team with three each. Morgan Goodman had a team-high four assists, while Sophie Forrester led the Cyclones in shots.

Those totals explain both the danger and the limitation. There is no single Iowa State scorer for BYU to erase, but there is also no high-volume finisher carrying the attack through league play. The Cyclones have scored once in their last five matches and were shut out by Kansas and Kansas State.

Their goals against Utah and Arizona State show the routes BYU must respect. Breezie Brewer equalized against Utah from a free kick well outside the box. Villa scored from roughly 25 yards after Iowa State converted an Arizona State turnover into a quick forward pass. Walters equalized at Arizona after a second-half carom.

All three punish a defense that assumes it has time. A foul in the central channel can become a direct shot. A loose pass during BYU’s buildup can become Villa facing goal before the back line resets. A partial clearance can land on Walters’ foot.

This matters after the Kansas draw. BYU protected its lead for 65 minutes, then failed to finish a clearance inside the box. Jordan Rowan split two defenders and tied the match. Iowa State has not produced Kansas’ volume, but it does not need 23 shots if BYU offers the same second chance.

Bella Woods and Avery Frischknecht both made important recovery plays at Kansas. Frischknecht’s goal-line clearance in the 89th minute saved the point. Monday’s better outcome is to make those emergency interventions unnecessary by winning the first duel and controlling the next ball.

BYU should test the second half before it arrives

Iowa State’s last home match changed after halftime. Kansas State led the first-half shot count 7-6, then took 13 of the 18 second-half attempts. The Cyclones’ best late chances came in the final four minutes, but by then they were chasing a goal and McClenahan had spent the half under pressure.

BYU has several ways to avoid waiting that long. Hamberlin can occupy the center backs. Krommenhoek can receive underneath and turn. Afton Perry can stretch a channel, while Mattyn Summers-Oviatt has shown she can finish both a header and a run through the line. The Texas Tech win proved that BYU can use more than one route in the same match.

The problem at Kansas was not a lack of early intent. BYU forced a diving save almost immediately, scored in the 17th minute and led the first-half shots 6-4. The issue was what happened as Kansas pushed more numbers forward. The Cougars spent longer stretches defending, and their outlets stopped turning recoveries into sustained possession.

Iowa State may invite that same pattern without creating as much pressure. If BYU takes a lead, the next 10 minutes matter. A rushed clearance gives the Cyclones another service. A controlled outlet forces Iowa State to turn and run, which creates room for the second Cougar wave.

Fans should track BYU’s first pass after a defensive win. If it repeatedly goes straight back to Iowa State, the scoreboard may stay close even while the Cougars look like the stronger team. If Krommenhoek, Perry or Mia Goettsche can receive facing forward, Iowa State’s compact shape has to expand.

Corners can tell the story before goals do

Iowa State won six corners against Kansas State despite being outshot 20-9. That is a useful warning. The Cyclones did not control the full match, but they still reached dangerous restart positions often enough to keep one play relevant.

BYU allowed Kansas to create its late equalizer after sustained box pressure, then needed Frischknecht on the goal line after a free kick. Monday’s corner count will reveal whether the Cougars are ending attacks or merely postponing them.

At the other end, repeated BYU corners can wear down the defensive structure around McClenahan. Woods has been willing to shoot from outside the box after cleared service. Summers-Oviatt’s aerial finish against Texas Tech gives Iowa State another body to account for. The valuable corner may be the one that is recycled cleanly rather than the first ball forced into traffic.

Do not confuse a large corner advantage with a completed job. Kansas needed its 10th corner to break Iowa State. BYU’s task is to make each restart create a different question: service to the near zone, a delayed ball toward the penalty spot, or a short exchange that changes the angle.

Series history is short and one-sided

BYU leads the all-time series 2-0. The schools last met in 2024, when the Cougars won 3-1. That history is useful for orientation and little else. Iowa State replaced more than half of its 2025 roster, and Monday will be the first meeting between these current groups.

The more relevant contrast is recent. BYU has beaten Texas Tech, won at Cincinnati and drawn Kansas over its last three matches. Iowa State has lost three straight, including consecutive 1-0 defeats, but has forced strong opponents to keep working deep into the second half.

A professional BYU performance does not need to be dramatic. It needs to put McClenahan under movement rather than target practice, deny Iowa State’s direct-shot and turnover routes, and keep the second clearance from becoming the first crisis.

What comes next

BYU returns to South Field for Utah on Friday, Oct. 30, and Arizona State on Thursday, Nov. 5. Iowa State remains home for Oklahoma State on Thursday. The Big 12 Tournament begins Nov. 9.

The women’s soccer hub keeps BYU’s roster and season pages together. The schedule carries the permanent event link, and the results archive will update after an official final is posted.

Monday’s three best checks are plain: can BYU make McClenahan move, can it own the ball after the first clearance, and can it turn a lead into possession rather than another emergency finish?

Iowa State has spent October proving that a goalkeeper and one live ball can keep a match uncomfortable. BYU has the attack to solve that. Now it has to do the patient part.

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Sources and further reading

• BYU Athletics event 25214 for the stable event ID, UTC kickoff, Cyclone Sports Complex venue, road and conference designations, scheduled status and opponent.
• BYU Athletics women’s soccer schedule for the verified Mountain start, ESPN+ player, StatBroadcast feed, current record and permanent official event route.
• BYU Athletics: 1-1 draw at Kansas for BYU’s latest record, Hamberlin goal, Krommenhoek assist, shot totals, scoring sequence and late defensive actions.
• BYU Athletics: 2026 Big 12 schedule release for the remaining league schedule, tournament window and 2-0 series lead over Iowa State.
• Iowa State Athletics: Kansas State recap for the current Cyclone record, 1-0 final, shot and corner totals, McClenahan’s 12-save performance, free admission and independent start/stream confirmation.
• Iowa State Athletics: Kansas State primer for Iowa State’s player leaders, scoring distribution, season totals and roster-turnover context.
• Iowa State Athletics: 1-1 draw at Arizona State for McClenahan’s 10 saves, Villa’s long-range equalizer and the Cyclones’ ability to preserve a result under sustained pressure.
• Kansas Athletics: Oct. 24 Big 12 update for BYU and Kansas being tied for second with 17 conference points after Thursday’s draw.
• Iowa State University Brand Standards color palette for official cardinal #C8102E and gold used in the original matchup art.
• BYU Sport Nuts: Kansas watch guide, Kansas recap, women’s soccer schedule and results.