Lady Hounds roll; face front runner Mt. Pleasant Tuesday

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BY ETHAN LILLARD
Pen City Current Sports

FORT MADISON - Coming into Monday's contest at Baxter Sport Complex, Fort Madison's girls soccer team was sitting at No. 2 in the Southeast conference (Mount Pleasant sits at No. 1 with an 8-1 record and zero conference losses).

Nipping at their heals were Monday's opponent in the 6-5 Washington Demons. Winner of Monday's contest would be holder of the No. 2 spot in the conference and still have an outside shot of at least tying Mount Pleasant for the conference championship. 

All of the scoring Monday came in the first half and it all came from the Bloodhounds, as Fort Madison positioned itself closer to the top of the Southeast conference with a 3-0 win over Washington.

“We're not out of conference until we play Mount Pleasant tomorrow,” Seifert said. “We just want to keep that door open for us to give ourselves a chance.”

Once again Brandy Walker kept the door open for the Hounds, recording two of the team's three goals on the day.

Washington controlled the time of possession early on in the first half, but Fort Madison didn't need the ball for long to make a difference on the scoreboard.

In the 34th minute Walker found a soft spot in the Washington defense and outraced defenders half of the field, launching the ball into the bottom left corner to give the Hounds the 1-0 lead.

“I wouldn't have scored without my teammates, honestly,” Walker said. “Without them and without us connecting our passes … I wouldn't have even been near the goal.”

Ten minutes later the Washington keeper asked her teammates, “Who has No. 19?', but it was too late.

Maddy McVey found No. 19 (Walker) open in the middle of the field and led her to the goal. Walker chose the bottom left corner pocket again, sending a screamer past the Washington keeper for a 2-0 advantage.

“We've had 31 practices this season,” Seifert said. “For about 31 of them we've practiced passing patterns. It's a long road and it takes a long time. We're not near perfect, but they're starting to understand the different patterns we're trying to get them to do. Today it worked out.”

McVey is a lefty and has started at the left forward position for the Hounds all season. Monday, McVey started on the right side for the first time this season.

Fort Madison's Maddy McVey brings the ball in from the right side in the early going of Monday night's matchup with Washington. The Bloodhounds won 3-0 to move to 6-4 on the year. Photo by Ethan Lillard/PCC

It didn't phase her.

In the 20th minute, McVey ran past the Washington defense and sent the ball to the lonely bottom right corner of the net for a 3-0 Bloodhound lead.

“She played on the other wing for us today,” Seifert said. “It was a new role for her, but she executed perfectly. She's a lefty, but we put her on the right wing today … we mixed it up a little bit and it worked out.”

McVey is typically the basketball equivalent of the team's starting point guard and is used to setting the table for her teammates. But after Monday's contest, McVey admitted it felt good being the one to send it in between the sticks for a change.

“It just made me feel good that I could be on the other side of the goal part of it,” McVey said. “I like sprinting after it and being able to beat the defender. It just felt good to be able to kick it.”

McVey's goal was the last of the contest, as Seifert was able to sub out his starting unit with regularity in anticipation of tomorrow's showdown with Mount Pleasant and cruise for the 3-0 victory.

“It was an important win,” team captain Anna Kester said. “It was a big deal to us because it's leading up to districts … We still want to try to tie for conference.”

Fort Madison takes on Southeast Conference leading Mount Pleasant tomorrow at Baxter Sport Complex beginning at 5 p.m.

girls, Soccer

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