Hound boys back on track with home win

RECOVERY

Now we’re getting into the part of the season where it can be more mental than physical”

Kevin Wellman, FM boys soccer head coach

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison’s boys soccer team is back to a more normal schedule.
The Bloodhounds, coming off a two-week stretch in which they played nine matches, defeated Washington 6-0 on Monday night at the Baxter Sports Complex.
The last three weeks of the regular season for Fort Madison (6-4-2 overall, 4-2 Southeast Conference) will feature just two matches each week, which will give the Bloodhounds a chance to work on things heading into the postseason, as well as get some rest.
“We played those five games two weeks ago, four games a week ago, and it makes for a long stretch,” coach Kevin Wellman said. “And both of those weeks ended with two games in one day. That’s really tough on bodies.
“So it was nice to play today, and then get two days of practice and have some active recovery. And then we play Thursday at Keokuk, then have a Friday practice where we can get some more recovery, and then have the weekend off. Then next week is another two-game week, so it becomes a little more predictable.”
If anything, Wellman said, his team can have a mental recovery as well.
“Now we’re getting into the part of the season where it can be more mental than physical,” he said. “We’ll work on some things, and then we’ll stop and analyze what we’re doing. Hopefully that will help us improve on some things.”
The Bloodhounds, who had three losses and a tie in their last four matches, were the aggressors from the beginning of this match, with two shots on goal in the opening minute.
Jonah Tackett, who had a three-goal night, opened the scoring with a goal with 34:15 left in the first half. Jack Ragar scored with 19 ½ minutes left in the half to increase the lead to 2-0. Connor Horn scored with 6:30 left, then Tackett added his second goal with 4:08 to play to give the Bloodhounds a 4-0 halftime lead.
“Our field is probably the biggest in the conference, which is why I think we play so well at home,” Wellman said. “That allows our midfield to have space in order to turn, enough space and time to find that the right pass to get it transitioned into the attacking field. And I think we were doing that pretty well again tonight.”
Tackett’s final goal came with 36:45 left in the match. Joseph Lestina closed the scoring with a goal with 50 seconds left.
The Bloodhounds were able to keep the ball in their half of the field for most of the match. It was the fifth clean sheet of the season for goalkeeper Keelynd Ross, who had two saves.
“When we played Washington earlier this year (a 2-1 win), it was really a hard-fought game,” Wellman said. “Tonight I thought they played a little tired, and we moved the ball so well. We were able to make that extra pass at times to get better shots, but we have to do that consistently.”