FORT MADISON - The thought crossed the mind of Fort Madison girls soccer coach Carrie Burken late in Monday’s match against Washington.
“I mentioned to (assistant coach Landon Bentley) that I had been thinking this weekend that we hadn’t practiced penalty kicks yet in practice,” Burken said. “And here we were tonight, heading to penalty kicks.”
The Bloodhounds found themselves in that situation for the first time this season. And it wasn’t a problem.
Laura Mehmert’s shot past Washington goalkeeper Aleigha Medley gave the Bloodhounds a 1-0 (3-2) win in penalty kicks at the Baxter Sports Complex.
“We’ll take it,” Burken said, smiling.
Burken thought of last season, when the Bloodhounds took a 2-1 win in PKs over the Demons in the teams’ first matchup.
“Had a little deja vu there, for sure,” Burken said. “Not my favorite deja vu to have, but it’s still good.”
The Bloodhounds (2-1 overall, 2-0 Southeast Conference) have taken just two penalty kicks in matches this season — Teagan Snaadt had one stopped in last Thursday’s win at Fairfield, and Hadley Wolfe had one in the junior varsity match that night that was good.
“So we had a little bit of experience in PK situations this year,” Burken said.
The two teams went through two 40-minute halves and two 10-minute overtimes scoreless.
“I feel like we had a lot of chances, especially in the second half and in overtime,” Burken said. “The first half, we looked very sluggish and didn’t do a good job of connecting with teammates.”
Washington’s Nicoll Torrijos and Fort Madison’s Mary Kate Bendlage missed on the first shots for each team in the penalty-kick session Washington’s Jetzibe Sanchez also missed, then the Bloodhounds scored on Camille Kruse’s shot that hit into the left side of the net. Washington tied it on Angeline Anderson’s goal, then Fort Madison went up 2-1 on Halle Menke’s goal.
The Demons tied it on Audrey Anderson’s goal, then Snaadt missed on a shot. Washington had a chance to take the lead, but Fort Madison goalkeeper Taylor Johnson made a save on a shot by Alyvia Anderson. Wolfe then had a chance to win the match, but her shot missed over the top of the net.
Washington’s Giselle Marcelino missed on her shot, then Mehmert delivered the game-winner.
“We had some of these situations last year, so knowing how it would go was really helpful,” Burken said.
Burken said Johnson’s stop was the key moment.
“PKs really benefit the player on offense, so if you can get that one stop, it’s really important,” Burken said. “Taylor is a pretty intimidating goalkeeper — she’s long, she’s tall, she can jump. So that puts pressure on the other team to be a little more perfect on their shots.”
After surrendering three goals in the season opener against Notre Dame-West Burlington, the Bloodhounds have now posted back-to-back shutouts.
“I think it speaks to our defense and our experience,” Burken said. “I like the direction that we’re going. I’m really excited that we’re starting to grow and understand each other. That chemistry is building. As long as we keep doing that, we’ll be successful.”
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