FM girls just miss upset of BHS

FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison Lady Hounds came within about a foot on two separate occasions of getting their first win over conference foe Burlington in close to three years Monday night.
The two sitting atop the Southeast Conference with the Grayhounds now at 8-1-1 and the Bloodhounds at 7-1-1 battled to a 2-2 tie without overtime in regular season girls' soccer.
Fort Madison had scored just one goal against BHS since the 2023-24 season when they got just one goal in a 2-1 region 8 semifinal loss.
Fort Madison hasn’t beaten the Grayhounds outright since the 2022-2023 season when the Lady Hounds went 1-2 against Burlington with the win coming again in the Region 8 semifinals in triple overtime.
Hadley Wolfe had two goals in the game as a freshman. She had another Monday night to put Fort Madison up 2-1 at the 26:34 mark of the second half.  Wolfe took a beautiful send from Halle Menke at midfield at beat the Hound defense and keeper Sophie Young with a blast into the right side of the net.
Wolfe had beat Young about three minutes earlier on a breakaway up the left midfield and dribbled in past a couple defenders. She lost her footing and went down in front of the net and tried to pop it through while on the ground, but the Grayhound defense quickly collapsed to the play with the ball just off the goal line and no other Lady Hounds were around to punch it in.
Forward Kara Lake had the other score for the Hounds about five minutes into the second half when a soft shot at the left side just dribble past Young to tie things up at 1.
Burlington had the only goal of the first half when Kiara Winski lifted a soft shot on goal over the outstretched arms of Fort Madison keeper Ellie Hellman at just before the 20-minute mark. Winski would tie the game with another shot in the second half with a ball that went right and low past a diving Hellman to make it 2-2 and that’s where the game would stand.
With just 25 seconds left, the Hounds got the ball down the right side of the field, but a running shot at the goal just missed, catching the left side goal post and sailed past the net to run out the clock.

Head Coach Carrie Burken told the Lady Hounds after the game they should be proud of what they accomplished and they should look forward to seeing the Grayhounds again in the post season. BHS downed Fort Madison in Burlington 5-0 about three weeks ago at Bracewell Stadium.
“We made some adjustments for sure for this game. We’ve grown so much as a team since we played them earlier,” Burken said.
“We’ve grown in chemistry and understanding and I think a bit more clarity with what we want to do with the ball has been helpful. That was the difference for this game, but the next will be about paying attention to the smaller details.”
The Hounds tied Burlington last year at home, too, and Burken said there was a shift in mindset at home, but they need to stay upbeat when things get tougher.
“It’s those slight mindshifts and that makes a difference. We saw after their second goal, there was bit of deflation, a bit of scattered minds and some disorganization just because they were disappointed in giving up that second goal.”
Burken also talked about the play of Halle Menke who has been distributing the ball well all year.
“She can pass the ball anywhere on the field and she can do it in different ways. She can fire it, she has touch, and if we can get her up field, that’s great, but her value is moving the ball around and getting in good positions.”
Burlington also had several close chances to score in the early going at 35 minutes and 33 minutes, but both shots missed the target. Hellman had eight saves on the night. Menke had the lone assist for Fort Madison.
Fort Madison travels to East Lake Park in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday for another Southeast Conference matchup. They play at Mediapolis on Friday and then play four games in nine days, including two make-up games at Washington and at Burlington Notre Dame.