Demons downed by Bloodhounds

After losing 2-0 in a nonconference match at Columbus Saturday, the Washington High School boys soccer team was not able to have a day of practice to make adjustments and prepare for Monday's home Southeast Conference clash against Ft. Madison.

The Demons lost by the same 2-0 score, but it was 0-0 at halftime, the Ft. Madison coach called the first goal ‘'lucky” and the second goal came with just 3 minutes, 26 seconds left in the game.

'Our first half I thought we looked good,” Washington head coach Sally Hart said. 'I thought we looked a little tired in the second half. We played Saturday at Columbus and we didn't have a chance to access what all happened. One day to recuperate is a little tough. Especially with no practices in between to adjust to what we saw on Saturday I think might've hurt a little.”

For the Bloodhounds, a loss of the coin toss turned out to be in their favor.

'The biggest comment I have is about the wind,” Ft. Madison coach Kevin Wellman said. 'We wanted to defend the north goal but Washington got the coin flip and chose to defend that and so we thought we did not get what we wanted. The wind got stronger. Usually it dies down. When that happened I think it became our advantage.”

Despite the perceived advantage, the Bloodhounds were not able to put any marks on the board and the Demons missed on some prime oppotunities.

'We just could not quite connect with a goal,” Hart said. 'We have adjusted a little bit on our formation and where we have people lined up and that helped us get some nice looks.”

Demon shots hit the crossbar a couple times, a couple were too high or long and a couple shots missed wide.

'Their goal keeper had some good saves,” Hart said. 'He would not have had good saves if we did not have good shots. We just need to keep shooting.”

The Bloodhounds increased their intensity toward the end of the first half.

'We ended the first half really well,” Wellman said. 'We were going hard after loose balls. We went out and continued doing that in the second half. I think that was a big factor in our favor.”

Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Ft. Madison's Austin Sexton scored.

'I think our first goal was a little bit of luck,” Wellman said. 'I think the wind was a big factor. It's easier to get the ball downfield. Sometimes it's difficult to get that last touch if the ball gets sent. We will chalk it up to a little bit of luck.”

Sexton found a loose ball in the box after a Demon throw in and put it in the net for the first goal of the match.

'Washington made a mistake and miss-hit it and it played right to our forward's feet,” Wellman said. 'The defense is usually in really bad shape there when something like that happens. They are just not in the right positions and that was the case there. Austin got pretty lucky because he put it between the keeper's legs and that should not always be a goal, but he hit it hard.”

Although Washington keeper Ben Baughman gave up two goals, he was the most impressive player for Washington, according to Wellman.

'That was probably the only mistake the Washington goalkeeper made,” Wellman sai. 'I thought he played a good game. He has strong, sure hands. He stopped a lot of balls that a lot of other keepers might not have been able to handle. He was really good on crosses and corner kicks. He was good going up for the ball and winning that battle. He played well.”

Hart agreed with the opposing coach but credited the Bloodhounds style of play.

'Their first goal was lucky, but their players do a nice job of attacking as a unit,” Hart said. 'It is tough to stop a whole unit. We could shut down just one player, but they don't have just one player. They play really well as a unit.”

Hart said her goalkeeper needs some help on the other end of the field.

'Ben, like he has all season, just does a great job,” Hart said. 'We need to make sure we are doing our job and getting some goals. It was a tough loss. I am not upset. Disappointment would be a better word.”

The Bloodhounds are 7-6, 5-2 in the SEC and play at Fairfield Thursday.

There were some positives for Hart and the Demons.

'I feel like our passing has improved as the season has gone on. It's nice that we are healthier than we have been. We have more subs. We have Mount Pleasant at home Thursday, which is a tough opponent. I just want us to play our game and make sure that our defense starts to connect a little bit better than we did today.”

No. 15 West Liberty 3, No. 5 Iowa Mennonite 1

IMS lost to the visitors Monday.

West Liberty took an early 1-0 lead, scoring on a corner kick.

'The IMS defense did a good job of containing West Liberty the rest of the half but had trouble generating much offense against a fast and physical team,” IMS coach Marcus Miller said.

The second half was evenly played and the score remained 1-0 going into the last ten minutes of the game. As time began to wind down. IMS moved one defender up, choosing to play with three in the back line. West Liberty took advantage of the opening to find the goal with 8 minutes left on the clock.

IMS' Drew Blauvelt took a shot, but it was deflected and took a bounce to Will Kolck, who volleyed the ball into the net from about 20 yards out to make the score 2-1.

IMS earned a corner in the last 30 seconds of the game, but it was West Liberty who scored on the counter attack.

IMS drops to 7-3 overall and travels to Cedar Valley Christian Thursday and then will participate in the SEISC conference tournament this coming weekend. IMS finishes it regular season with a home game against Washington Monday.