Tough season comes to an end for Bloodhounds

Fort Madison sophomore Leif Boeding tries to capitalize on a loose ball near the net in the 2nd half of Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Pella in the Class 2A Region 6 final in Pella. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Posted Wednesday, May 25, 2022 11:44 pm

Pella ends Fort Madison's year again in 2A Substate 6 finals

BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP
PCC SPORTS

PELLA — Kevin Wellman’s voice cracked with emotion as he went through the final team meeting of the season.
Behind the Fort Madison boys soccer coach was the loud celebration he was hoping his team would get.
The 3-0 loss to Pella in Wednesday’s Class 2A substate final marked the second consecutive year the Bloodhounds fell to the Dutch, one step short of the state tournament.
“I was happy to be around these young men all season long,” Wellman said. “A really fun group to be around. They work hard, play hard, have a lot of fun, they have a lot of respect for each other, for me, for the coaching staff, for the people around them. Winning and losing soccer games is kind of trivial compared to those kinds of things.”

Fort Madison senior Mitchell Pothitakis tries to battle through to the net with Pella's goalie Tyler Killoren and defender Cody Johnson (18) in the second half of Wednesday's substate loss to the Dutch. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Pella (17-2), ranked eighth in Class 2A, is the top seed in next week’s state tournament.
The Dutch won last season’s matchup with three goals in penalty kicks after the two teams were scoreless through two halves and two overtimes. This time, two first-half goals had the Bloodhounds scrambling after Pella withstood several attacks by Fort Madison in the opening minutes.
Max Lauman’s goal with 13:24 to play in the first half put Pella up 1-0, then Isaac Semini’s header off a corner kick from Teddy Apostolopoulos with 4:40 to play pushed the lead to 2-0.
“They were quality goals,” Wellman said. “The second one, for sure, we couldn’t do anything about it. It was a very well-played corner, just a beautiful one-touch. That always takes the wind out of your sails. Now you’re thinking you’ve got to get two goals to stay in the match. But we still played hard. We were still fighting for it. We knew one (goal) gets the momentum going, another one you’re tied up, another one and you’ve got the game.
“We played really good in the first 10 minutes. We had them on the ropes, but they weathered the storm. And then momentum shifted. We had opportunities, they had opportunities, they were just able to capitalize on three of them.”

Hound midfielder Nathan Swigart tries to get to a ball to break up a run from Pella senior Preston Rowe in the first half Wednesday night. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Fort Madison had two good scoring chances early in the second half. Henry Graham had a shot go wide eight minutes into the half, then Nathen Bowen had a header that hit off the top of the net.
Pella then put the match away on Levi Van Dusseldorp’s goal with 22:18 to play.
The Bloodhounds finished 14-6 in a season when they lost to Jacob Pothitakis and Xander Wellman, two of their top offensive players, to knee injuries. Wellman, wearing a brace on his right knee, was able to play limited minutes in the final two substate games.
“The adversity was one of the things we talked about,” Kevin Wellman said. “I’m proud of the way we responded to the adversity. Two major, major players tearing their ACLs, that’s a huge setback. We made some adjustments, tactically moved some players around. And these men responded.
“These guys came out every day with a smile on their face. I’m happy to know in the future, when they face adversity, whether it’s on the sports field or in the classroom or on the job, they’ll be ready for it.”
Fort Madison won the Southeast Conference title, sweeping the 10 matches.
“There were several goals we met,” Wellman said. “So, yeah, great season.”