The Aberdeen Central boys’ soccer team enters the 2023 season with extra motivation. The Golden Eagles are using a tough loss to Sioux Falls Washington in the opening round of last season’s Class AA soccer playoffs to fuel their drive this season.

Central coach Lance Mohr said his team is building off of that contest which was determined on penalty kicks.

“It was a bad break in that game,” Mohr said. “Kind of a rub salt in the wound type of game. They’re just more-so excited to get that taste out of their mouth of having that been their last game last year. This group is just ready to get going and kind of tired of training against each other.”

The expectations are high for Mohr and the Golden Eagles as they head into this year’s campaign.

“With this particular group, as I’ve gotten to know them a little bit more after some preseason camp, my expectations are really, really high,” Mohr said. “This particular group really enjoys going out to practice. They enjoy being in each other’s company. There’s a lot of positive attitudes and energy that I’m seeing so far, so if we can have some early season success, I think that’s really going to give us some good momentum and continue to help grow that.”

Central will look to build momentum with a core group of experienced players, including all-state goalkeeper Camden Fauth, who Mohr called a “fantastic player.” Another key contributor will be senior Isaac Stockert, although his role will look different this season.

“He injured himself in the offseason, so he’ll be serving as a team captain for us,” Mohr said, “so his leadership will be valuable to the team, but he won’t be able to help us on the field.”

Mohr also noted a pair of other key contributors for the team this season.

“Tyler Bain has a couple years of varsity experience under his belt already. He’s going to play a really big role for us,” Mohr said. “We also have Jordan Grieben, who’s coming back as a senior. He’ll play a big role for us.”

Mohr also said there are several others that will see quality time this season, including Gus Bjerknes, Gavin Yost, Derek Arunasalam, and Hunter Erickson.

“Those four guys that are underclassmen have played quite a bit last year, but will now hope to play even more this year,” Mohr said. “They’ll have really, really big impacts on the team.”

The team has taken advantage of the offseason, working both individually and as a team, to prepare for the upcoming season.

“They individually do different things, whether it’s at Sanford, via the program at the high school, or some do some performance center-type stuff through Avera. Most of them are involved in something like that on an individual strength and conditioning level,” Mohr said.

“We have some open field where we make sure to get all the guys together. We have that weekly.”

The Golden Eagles will kick off their season at 7 p.m. Friday in a home doubleheader against Spearfish, and Mohr has been keeping his eye on the season opener for quite some time.

“This first one against Spearfish is always a really good benchmark game,” Mohr said. “Spearfish always has a good, solid program, so getting this one and kind of putting the line in the sand will be important for us.”

Mohr also noted that the road game against Yankton will be one to keep an eye on when the teams collide on Sept. 23.

“We always play a really, really good competitive game against Yankton,” Mohr said. “It’s always a good team to go play. We enjoy playing them.”

The team has put together a set of goals that they will look to accomplish this season, including winning the conference and winning every home game. The Golden Eagles also want to win a certain percentage of their road games, as well as earn a certain percentage of shutouts. Mohr noted that while the team’s goals seem lofty, they are achievable.

“They’re taking that extra step with their goals, sitting and looking at it a little bit deeper, and starting to understand what needs to be done to get there,” Mohr said. “They’re really, really lofty, positive goals, and they’re starting to rally around those. We can see them rehearsing them and talking about them, so that’s all really positive.”

At the end of the day, Mohr is ready to see his team in action and see what they are made of.

“I’m excited to see what they can do in 80 minutes against another good varsity team,” Mohr said.