Hounds' win sets up critical match with MP

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison’s boys soccer team will reach the halfway point of the Southeast Conference season with Thursday’s match at Mount Pleasant.
It will also be a chance for either the Bloodhounds or Panthers to put themselves into position as the favorites to win the conference title.
It’s why Fort Madison coach Kevin Wellman told his team after Monday’s 5-0 win over Washington to go home, study video of the Panthers, and get some rest.
The Bloodhounds (4-2-1 overall, 3-0 conference) are tied for first place with the Panthers, who won 2-1 over Burlington on Monday.
“We’re going to find out Thursday, or when Mount Pleasant comes down here later in the year, that’s going to be the one for the conference,” Wellman said. “We’re playing well right now, and there are some not-so-good things, like injuries. But we’re at that point in the season when no one is a hundred percent, so we have to be at our best when we play.”
Wellman liked, for the most part, what the Bloodhounds did against the Demons (1-6, 1-3). Fort Madison put constant offensive pressure on Washington throughout the first half, and struck quickly in the second half to put the match out of reach.
But Wellman didn’t like how the Bloodhounds finished, a point he made to his team during their post-match meeting.
“It will show Thursday if they heard me,” Wellman said. “We’ll see it as coaches tomorrow and Wednesday during practice. But I’m confident if we can go up there (to Mount Pleasant) and play well, it’s going to be a good game.”

The Bloodhounds were without senior forward Henry Graham, who was injured in last Thursday’s win at Burlington and is questionable for the match against Mount Pleasant.
But Connor Horn continued his hot start to the season, scoring three times. Horn leads the Bloodhounds with 12 goals this season.
“Connor’s been doing well,” Wellman said. “We kind of changed up our formation a little bit. We moved one of our forwards kind of back into a holding forward position, so that gives Connor more room. And I don't know if that's why he's finding some success, but he is finding some space. He's able to get in behind the defense a few times. We're giving them the ball a little better, a little sooner, and then it’s coming off his foot really well. So we like what’s going on there.”
Horn’s first goal came at the 26:46 mark of the first half off a pass from Jacob Shottenkirk, who had three assists on the night. Jonah Santiago’s goal on a penalty kick with 16:34 left in the half gave Fort Madison a 2-0 lead, then Jay Ellison scored his first goal of the season with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Wellman challenged his team to score two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. It took the Bloodhounds 7 ½ minutes to accomplish the feat.
“So I told them they don’t get credit for that,” Wellman said, smiling.
Horn scored both of the goals, one at the 37:34 mark and the second with 32:37 to play.
Fort Madison, though, didn’t score again as Washington started to get inside the Bloodhounds’ defense.
“I think we forgot we still had to play after those two goals, and we let down a little bit and let them get into the defense a few times,” Wellman said. “Those are some things we’re going to have to work on before we face Mount Pleasant.”