Newton boys shut out by Fort Madison in regular-season finale

FORT MADISON — The postseason brackets are already out. And Friday’s match against Fort Madison really didn’t count for anything past that one night on the pitch.

But Newton head boys soccer coach Zach Jensen still didn’t want to go into the postseason with a dud. Unfortunately, the Cardinals fell 7-0 to the Bloodhounds during a non-conference road matchup.

“We didn’t get off the bus tonight,” Jensen said. “We looked like we haven’t kicked a soccer ball before.”

Fort Madison led 5-0 at halftime and added two goals in the second half. It was the Bloodhounds first win over Newton since the two teams started playing each year since 2022.

The Cardinals (5-10-2) had a 23-18 advantage in shots, but Fort Madison put 14 of its 18 shots on goal. Newton tallied 11 shots on goal.

Connor Ham had a hat trick in Fort Madison’s win and now has 18 goals this spring. Henry Graham, Jonah Santiago and Jacob Shottenkirk all had one goal and one assist in the win.

It was Graham’s 13th goal of the season and Shottenkirk has a team-best 18 assists.

Fort Madison (8-6-1) posted its fifth shutout of the season.

“We played varsity first tonight and the match was on thick, long grass,” Jensen said. “I’m not sure if that played a factor, but we need to flush this one.

“The game technically doesn’t mean anything, but it’s not a great result going into the playoffs. We didn’t travel 2.5 hours to get our butts kicked,”

Javin Doland made 12 saves in the loss. He now has 197 saves this spring, which ranks second in Class 3A.

The Cardinals open 3A Substate 7 play at home against Winterset at 7 p.m. on Monday at H.A. Lynn Stadium in Newton.

Newton is 1-0 against Winterset (3-11-1) since 2016. The Huskies are currently on a six-game losing streak.