Kevin Wellman figures with the number of players out for Fort Madison’s boys soccer team, he has plenty of options, especially on defense.
Figuring out the right options, though, is something that might take a few matches.
The Bloodhounds are 0-1 to start the year after a 3-2 loss at Williamsburg last week, but now they’re getting into the meat of their schedule, starting with Thursday’s home match against Keokuk.
“We’ve got 35 players, so there are a lot of choices we can make with our combinations,” Wellman said. “We’ll learn early on, with some of our first matches and our scrimmages, what are our right choices. A huge core of the team is back, obviously. They’re fantastic kids, they work hard, they have great attitudes.”
The Bloodhounds lost five seniors off last season’s team that won the program’s third consecutive Southeast Conference title and finished 15-4, losing to Iowa City Liberty in the substate final. Among the losses were Xander Wellman, who led Fort Madison with 30 goals and 16 assists, and Jacob Pothitakis, who had seven goals and 15 assists.
But Kevin Wellman thinks the Bloodhounds will be more balanced up front. Henry Graham, who had 12 goals last season, had both of Fort Madison’s goals in the season opener, but Wellman feels there are other scoring options as well.
“Last year, we had them mainly from one guy,” Wellman said. “This year, it’s going to be more spread out.”
Leif Boeding, who had nine goals last season, is back, as well as Jacob Shottenkirk, who had eight goals.
“Henry had a lot of goals last season, and I’m looking for him to score a few more this year,” Wellman said. “He’s got a stronger shot this year, and he’s just stronger overall. So he’s going to score some goals.
“Leif Boeding is going to contribute a few goals here and there — he’s such a phenomenal athlete. Jacob was a sneaky goal scorer last year, and his numbers should go up. Marco (Gomez Gutierrez), an exchange student, is really a good player and is going to contribute up front. So we have a lot of people who can get us offense.”
That balance, Wellman said, is going to be important.
“It makes it to where if someone is having an off night, someone can pick them up,” he said. “It’s not all just on one guy. I think it’s a good thing, I think it’s something we’ll feed off of this year.”
Nathen Bowen will anchor the Bloodhounds’ defense — Fort Madison allowed just one goal in six matches, and had five shutouts.
“Nathen Bowen will shore up the defense at center-back,” Wellman said. “He’s got a lot of speed, he’s strong, he’s not going to get muscled off the ball. He makes good decisions.”
How the rest of the defense goes, Wellman said, will be determined by what he sees in the first couple of weeks.
“We’ll get tested, and then we’ll have a good idea about our choices,” he said.
Conner Gehling and Oliver Santiago shared goalkeeping duties last season, and Wellman said Santiago could also see some time in the midfield.
“We have some choices there, too,” Wellman said. “Conner is so athletic, and Oliver had a good season in goal.”
The Bloodhounds may have lost a couple of big names, but there is still plenty of talent to chase another conference crown.
“They’re so much fun to be around,” Wellman said. “It’s been that way for a while, and it’s really going to be that way this year.”
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