CLANG! Fairfield tags Hounds with second SEC loss

FORT MADISON - The sound, Fort Madison boys soccer coach Kevin Wellman said, is something players don’t want to hear.
The clang of a soccer ball hitting the crossbar or the post of the goal was heard three times by the Bloodhounds in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Fairfield at the Baxter Sports Complex, which was how close they came to salvaging their difficult week in the Southeast Conference.
“I didn’t fault my guys,” Wellman said. “Not a single one of my guys, no fault at all. A game like this, it’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
“When these guys watch the film from this, they’ll see that we played well. It’s just sometimes, games like this happen.”
Fort Madison (5-3, 3-2 conference) fell into third place after losing to the second-place Trojans (6-1, 4-2) after losing to conference leader Mount Pleasant on Monday.
The Bloodhounds, who play two matches on Saturday at Pella, are almost done with a stretch of playing nine matches in two weeks.
“Someone at work asked me how many games we play in our season and I said 17,” Wellman said. “He said, ‘You’re playing half your season in two weeks.’ I didn’t realize that. Our starters were out there a long time today because it was such a close game. And they work hard in practice, so these guys have worked a lot this week.”
This match was tied at 1 until Fairfield’s Oliver Siemsen slipped a shot underneath Fort Madison goalkeeper Keelynd Ross with 10:47 to play in the second half.
But what was frustrating for the Bloodhounds was how close they came to scoring throughout the night. They outshot the Trojans 18-8, but their lone goal came from Connor Horn with 3:23 left in the first half, just 22 seconds after a goal from Siemsen, who knocked in the carom of Cormac Van Pelt’s shot that hit off Ross’ hands.
“You really have to tip your cap to Fairfield,” Wellman said. “They’re winning games, and they found ways to win tonight.”
The most aggravating shots for the Bloodhounds were the two by Jonah Tackett that hit the crossbar, one in the first half and one in the second.
“That sound is something a forward doesn’t want to hear,” Wellman said. “A couple of inches different, and those are goals.”
Fort Madison had another scoring opportunity with 11 ½ minutes to play, when Fairfield goalkeeper Henry Swan came out too far and Bloodhound forward Clay Smith was able to get around him. But Swan was able to get back and knock the ball away from Smith before he could get a shot off.
Wellman thought about something one of his assistants had said about his team.
“He said they’re like goldfish and elephants,” Wellman said. “Goldfish, because they have short memories, and elephants, because they have big hearts. This group of guys does that so well. We’ll figure it out.
“We did all the right things without getting the result we wanted. If we keep doing that, good things will happen.”