DONNELLSON — It didn’t take long after Fort Madison’s 13-1 win at Central Lee on Tuesday night before coach Carrie Burken told her team to get rest and get hydrated to be ready for the Bloodhounds’ first key test of the season.
Fort Madison plays at Burlington on Thursday in the first matchup of the season for the two teams who have been 1-2 in the Southeast Conference the last few seasons and are always together in the postseason regional tournament bracket. Both teams are undefeated in conference play — the Bloodhounds are 2-0 and the Grayhounds, whose match at Washington on Monday was postponed because of weather, are 1-0 — so the winner of Thursday’s 5 p.m. match at Bracewell Stadium will be a step ahead in the league race.
It’s why Burken didn’t mind that this match, played in hot temperatures and a gusty wind, only lasted one half.
“We did a lot of good things tonight,” she said.
Fort Madison (3-0) was coming off a 4-0 win at Keokuk on Monday, a match in which Burken thought her team got off to a slow start. This start was much better — the Bloodhounds had four goals in the first 10 minutes and were up 7-0 15 ½ minutes in.
“A game like this, it’s important, because it gives us a lot of confidence,” said senior Hadley Wolfe, who scored five goals.
Five Bloodhounds had at least one goal. Emma Snaadt scored three times. Reilynn Turnbull and Molly Schulte scored twice. Kara Lake scored once.
“We’re getting goals from a lot of different people, in a lot of different scenarios, which is good, because you don’t know what you’re going to face in games,” Burken said. “Being in the right spot and being able to finish is important, and we have had players in the right spots, finding those passes.”
Lake had three assists. Wolfe, Turnbull, Brynlee Dixon and Faith Ward each had one assist.
“We’re just moving the ball, creating runs, getting everybody involved,” Wolfe said.
That kind of ball movement, Burken said, is going to be crucial against Burlington.
“We were connecting on passes, and that’s something we’re going to have to keep doing,” Burken said. “Burlington is a team that we have to keep possession against, because of the way they move and pass the ball. We’re going to have to maintain possession as much as possible.”
“We’re going to need our ‘A’ game,” Wolfe said. “We have to be at our best against Burlington.”
Central Lee coach Jess Young, whose team fell to 0-4, said the match was another lesson for her team.
“We’ve had some injuries, and we had some more tonight — we actually played short-handed there late,” she said. “But I saw a lot of good things, positive things. Our skills are improving, we’re learning more about each other. Obviously there are still some things to work on, but there were a lot more positive things in this one than we’ve had.”
Young liked what she saw out of goaltender Aubree Bunnell, who was playing for the first time this season.
“She joined our team last week, and this was her first soccer game ever,” Young said. “She made some good saves tonight, and I liked how she played. I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops.”
Evelyn Adkins had the Hawks’ lone goal, scoring with 1:41 remaining.
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