Boys falter to conference leaders

The Southeast Conference leading Fort Madison boys? soccer team came into Washington on Monday evening, and for a 20-minute stretch in the first half, looked nearly unstoppable.

The Bloodhounds put together five goals in the final 20 minutes of the first half, giving them a 6-1 halftime lead, helping them to a 6-2 victory over the Demons.

?We played soccer in the second half,? Washington boys? soccer head coach Steven Caulk said. ?I?ve gone through probably 10 different lineups this year and we win with some, but we?ll lose with the same lineups. If the guys come out and connect with passes and play smart, we?ll win games. If we give it away, we give it away.?

The Bloodhounds opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game, as Noah Dean put in his first of two goals in the game.

Washington didn?t wait long to respond, as Tony Torres put a goal in the net to equalize a minute later.

Dean answered that goal for the Bloodhounds with his second, and then Braxton Williams found the net four more times in the first half to put Fort Madison up for good.

?In the first 20 minutes, it looked like we came out ready to play and ready to win,? Caulk said. ?In the next 20 minutes we gave up five goals. Then we came out in the second half and didn?t give up a single goal. We were hot and cold.?

The Demons will host Mt. Pleasant on Thursday afternoon as they look for the first conference win of the season.