Lady Hounds give up first goal, first loss

FAMILIAR ROAD

We’ve been down that road before, we’re both tough teams, we’re both good teams, so it was going to be a close game,”

Carrie Burken, FMHS Head Coach girls' soccer

BURLINGTON — Of course it was going to come down to penalty kicks.
Fort Madison and Burlington have been two evenly matched girls soccer programs over the last four seasons, and Bloodhounds coach Carrie Burken knew Thursday’s match at Bracewell Stadium was going to be close.
Burlington’s 1-0 (3-1 PKs) win didn’t leave Burken with a bad taste.
“I don’t walk away from this with any negativity, any concern, or any regrets,” she said. “We played the best that we could.”
The Bloodhounds and Grayhounds had split the last eight matches dating back to the 2021 season, with only two of the matches decided by more than one goal. The last time they played was in the Class 2A regional semifinal last season, with Fort Madison winning in penalty kicks.
“We’ve been down that road before, we’re both tough teams, we’re both good teams, so it was going to be a close game,” Burken said.
The two teams had scoring chances, but neither could get a goal in the two halves and two overtimes, setting up the penalty-kick round.
Fort Madison’s Teagan Snaadt, who led off the round, had her shot stopped by Burlington keeper Jenna Hentzel. Kevynn Siefken, first up for the Grayhounds, hit her shot over the goal.
Natalie Randolph gave the Bloodhounds a 1-0 lead with her goal, then Josephine Blazic scored to tie the round.
Reilynn Turnbull, up next for Fort Madison, had her shot go over the net, then Hunter Pender scored for a 2-1 Burlington lead.
Halle Menke tried to get a shot past Hentzel on her right side, but the shot hit the post and caromed away. Kingsley Miller then finished the win with her goal.
Fort Madison (4-1 overall, 2-1 Southeast Conference), who moved up to 13th in the Class 2A rankings earlier in the day, had its scoring opportunities, as did the Grayhounds (4-2, 3-0). Snaadt had three shots on goal, and Menke and Hadley Wolfe each had one, but couldn’t get one past Hentzel.
Fort Madison goalkeeper Taylor Johnson was just as solid, coming up with nine saves.
The rainy, windy night wasn’t conducive to many attacks.
“I think it’s just always tough on turf for us, because we don’t get a lot of practice on it,” Burken said. “And when it’s wet and windy, you saw how both teams had trouble controlling the ball.”
Fort Madison still hasn’t allowed a goal in regulation time this season.
“That was my No. 1 concern coming in — how was our defense going to do,” Burken said. “And our defense stepped up really big.”
It was the third match of the week for the Bloodhounds, and Burken told the team after the match that they could have Friday off.
“We had tired legs, and we have some people with nagging injuries,” she said. “So it’s good to give them a break.”
Burken also had a message for the team, bringing up how Burlington beat the Bloodhounds twice in the regular season, but Fort Madison won in the postseason.
“It’s a long season, and we’ll play them again,” she said. “There’s been a lot of back and forth with them. They knew it was going to be tight, we knew it was going to be tight. That’s how it is when you’re fighting for the top of the conference. It was going to be close, and they won it tonight.”