Hounds find offense in shutout win

Tournament Saturday

It’s not going to be a heck of a lot of rest for the guys. I think we’ve had some good tests so far — Williamsburg was good, Washington is really, really good. But these are teams that we hardly see. I’m expecting them to be top-notch teams, and they’ll challenge us.”

Kevin Wellman, FM Boys Head Soccer Coach

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison High School posted a 7-0 boys soccer win over Keokuk in Thursday’s Southeast Conference match at the Baxter Sports Complex.
But there was grumbling from the Bloodhounds, who thought they could have played better. And that’s fine, coach Kevin Wellman said.
“We’re recognizing the mistakes,” Wellman said. “We’re struggling to fix the mistakes.
“They self-recognize, for the most part. These guys hold themselves to a pretty high standard. They have a lot of pride for where they want to be. And in some of these games, I don’t think they feel like they’re where they want to be.”
The Bloodhounds (5-0 overall, 3-0 conference) got two goals apiece from Xander Wellman, Jacob Pothitakis and Henry Graham, and one from Oliver Santiago, and got strong defense to get their second shutout of the season.
But there was more that they felt they could have done, and their coach agreed.
“When you're walking away after you miss a shot or something, and somebody says something, you can reflect and realize that ‘I messed up,’  but then we get in the same situation again, and we make the same mistake again,” Kevin Wellman said.
Fort Madison has been wanting to get off to strong starts, and the Bloodhounds did that with a goal from Pothitakis and a goal from Xander Wellman in the first 6 1/2 minutes. Fort Madison then didn’t score again until Graham’s goal with 29 seconds left in the first half.
“It stagnated out there,” Kevin Wellman said. “It kind of became a grind there for a while. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was.”
The Bloodhounds then took control early in the second half. Xander Wellman scored with 32:48 to play, then Pothitakis scored off a header with 28:54 left. Graham’s goal with 23:53 left gave Fort Madison a 6-0 lead and allowed Kevin Wellman to rest his top players.
That is going to be important for a busy Saturday when the Bloodhounds host Clear Creek Amana and Davenport North in their tournament.
“It’s not going to be a heck of a lot of rest for the guys,” Wellman said. “I think we’ve had some good tests so far — Williamsburg was good, Washington is really, really good. But these are teams that we hardly see. I’m expecting them to be top-notch teams, and they’ll challenge us.”