FORT MADISON - It’s another busy week, and a crucial week, for Fort Madison’s girls soccer team.
The Bloodhounds kicked it off with a 1-0 win over Keokuk on Monday at the Baxter Sports Complex.
It wasn’t one of Fort Madison’s best performances, coach Carrie Burken said.
“But we got the win,” she said, “and ultimately that’s what matters.”
The Bloodhounds (8-2 overall, 7-1 Southeast Conference) extended their winning streak to five and kept themselves in a key position in the conference standings heading into Thursday’s road game against conference leader Burlington.
Fort Madison is just one game behind the Grayhounds, and a win Thursday is crucial heading into the final week of the season next week.
“It’s absolutely a must-win game,” Burken said. “At this point in the season, every conference game is a must-win. Against Burlington, it’s critical, because if we want to win the conference, we have to win that match. And we definitely can.”
It was the fourth consecutive shutout for the Bloodhounds, and they needed the defense.
Macey McLees’ goal with 31:56 left in the first half was all Fort Madison could get on offense. But the Bloodhounds’ defense, with captains Mary Kate Bendlage and Camille Kruse on the back end and Taylor Johnson in goal, didn’t let the Chiefs (2-9, 1-7) mount any sort of attack for most of the match.
“I think when we have games like today, when offensively we can’t get it going, it makes me feel better and the team feel better that our defense has got us,” Burken said.
Fort Madison was coming off a week in which it played three matches, and this is another three-match week. The Bloodhounds play at Mediapolis on Tuesday before playing at Burlington.
“We played three games last week, a few of the girls had prom this weekend, and it’s a Monday,” Burken said, smiling. “All of those things just kind of added up, and we just didn’t play our best.”
It also didn’t help that a heavy cross wind played some havoc as well.
“It’s harder to connect on passes, and you could see that,” Burken said. “And when you’re running into that wind, it can get tiring.”
The match against Mediapolis will give the Bloodhounds a chance to play on artificial turf, something they’ll see against Burlington.
“I think tomorrow is important to be able to get used to playing on the turf,” Burken said. “So tomorrow is important to build off today. OK, today wasn’t our best. We have the ability to bounce back. I’m not worried about this team. I know we trust each other, and I know that tomorrow we’re going to play better than we did today.”
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