FM boys get going in first half

Slow start

I would say it takes us forever to get off the bus, but we drove.”

Kevin Wellman, FM Head Coach

FORT MADISON - The simplest explanation to the slow start for Fort Madison’s boys soccer team on Monday was, well, it was Monday.
And yet the Bloodhounds defeated Keokuk 10-0 in a match stopped at halftime because of the 10-goal rule.
Fort Madison (6-2 overall, 5-0 Southeast Conference) scored all of their goals in a 27-minute fury after a sluggish start in a match that was played at the Baxter Sports Complex, but the Bloodhounds were the road team because the Chiefs (0-6, 0-4) are playing their home matches in Fort Madison while a new field is installed at Calvert Stadium.
“I would say it takes us forever to get off the bus, but we drove,” Wellman quipped.
Wellman said he has tried different things to get his team going, including a change in how the Bloodhounds go through warmups.
Then again, he said, it might be as simple as the day of the week.
“They get up early, they go to school, they’ve stayed up late on the weekend, they come to practice and they’ve got nothing left,” he said. “Fridays, they come to practice and they’re giddy, goofing around a little more.”
Once the Bloodhounds started scoring, though, the Chiefs didn’t have an answer, much like they haven’t had in this rivalry for a while.
It was the 13th consecutive win for Fort Madison in the series, with a combined scoring margin of 95-3 in those matches.
Leif Boeding opened the scoring at the 13-minute mark, and nine minutes later the Bloodhounds were up 5-0, and the goals kept coming.
Boeding, Jacob Shottenkirk, Henry Graham, and Mario Gomez each had two goals. Noah Swigart and Jan de Gracia Hernandez each had a goal. Shottenkirk and Jackson Haessig each had two assists.  Boeding, de Gracia Hernandez, Xander Lumsden, Maddox Rung, and Layne Rung each had an assist.
“Once we got going, I liked what I saw,” Wellman said. “A lot of different guys scored, and I like that.”
Wellman credited Keokuk’s defense at the beginning.
“They did a good job,” Wellman said. “Defense should compact in and make it difficult. And then it took us a while to spread the ball wide, and that would spread out their defense a little and give us some space in the middle. Again, after those first 12 minutes or so, we started moving the ball around and breaking down their defense.
The Bloodhounds hadn’t played since last Monday’s win at Washington. Thursday’s home match against Mount Pleasant was rained out.
“We didn’t play, and then we didn’t have a place to go practice, either,” Wellman said. “So we only got to practice two times last week. So it was nice to get back out here. After those first 12 minutes or so, we were going good.”
Fort Madison won the junior varsity match 4-1. Connor Horn had a hat trick, and Jackson Haessig added a goal. Jonah Santiago had two assists and Mason Overberg had one assist.