Fort Madison chews up Big Reds in home opener

GREAT ASSIST

She was with the back line of the defense, and I knew she could get through them. It was a great play.”

Halle Menke, FMHS forward

FORT MADISON - Teagan Snaadt missed almost all of Fort Madison’s two weeks of soccer practice because of vacation over spring break and Holy Trinity’s annual senior trip.
She didn’t get her usual playing time in Monday’s season-opening match against Macomb as she was trying to get her conditioning back.
“I was huffing and puffing the other day,” Snaadt said.
Snaadt scored 81 seconds into Thursday’s home opener against Centerville, and coach Carrie Burken knew what that meant.
“I guess the two days of practice between Monday and today was all she needed,” Burken said, smiling. “She gets that first goal and it’s, ‘Yep, that’s Teagan.’”
Snaadt had four goals and Halle Menke added three as the Bloodhounds defeated the Big Reds 10-0 at the Baxter Sports Complex.
Snaadt was aggressive right away — she had four shots on goal in the first three minutes. The breakaway goal to open the match was only the beginning.
“She’s just someone that when she smells the blood, she's just going for it, and it becomes hard to stop her, because she gets so determined,” Burken said. “That’s definitely Teagan. That's who she is. That's why she's one of our leaders. And then everyone just kind of follows that intensity.”
“It was good to get that first one to go in,” Snaadt said. “It was much better than the other night.”
She scored again less than three minutes later to put Fort Madison up 2-0, then her last two goals of the night came in a 48-second span later in the half.
One of her best offensive plays of the night, though, was an assist on Menke’s second goal. Snaadt moved toward the goal, then slipped a pass between two defenders to Menke, who made a perfect break on the ball before snapping it into the net.
“I gave her a look, and I think she knew what I was talking about,” Snaadt said. “I put the ball where I knew she would be, and she was right there.”
“She was with the back line of the defense, and I knew she could get through them,” Menke said. “It was a great play.”
The Bloodhounds (1-0-1) were relentless against Centerville (0-1-1), with 26 shots on goal.
“We had good pressure on them,” Menke said. “We just had to make sure we connected on our passes.”
Menke had two assists to go with her goals.
“I think what was different tonight for her versus Monday is I think she was on the ball more, and the ball got to her more from her teammates, and then she was able to control the middle more and distribute the ball,” Burken said. “Which,when she's able to do that, that's when we're at our best offensively.”
Molly Schulte, Chloe Butler and Hadley Wolfe also had goals for the Bloodhounds, who didn’t score in the tie against Macomb.
“Our first game was on turf, and we were trying to build chemistry,” Burken said. “Tonight we were playing on a familiar surface — playing on grass is a lot different. So we were able to get to some through balls and connect on passes. I thought we played a lot better tonight.”
Wolfe had three assists, Molly Schulte had two, and Snaadt and Faith Ward each had one.
The Bloodhounds don’t play until next Thursday’s Southeast Conference opener against Keokuk.