The scoring woes continued for the Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer program Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles suffered their third straight 1-0 loss, this time at the hands of the Yankton Gazelles in an Eastern South Dakota Conference match at Brownell Activities Complex. It marked the fourth game in a row that the Eagles have not found the back of the net.
Central has not scored since a 2-1 loss to Sioux Falls Lincoln back on Sept. 10 and has not found a way into the win column since a 10-0 blanking of Huron on Sept. 3.
But it’s not for lack of effort or opportunity, as the Golden Eagles continue to outshoot their opponents.
Yankton was able to take advantage of one of its opportunities when Auviana Seiler won a foot race to a loose ball deep in Central’s defensive zone and drove home her shot early in the second half. That goal came with just under 38 minutes to play.
“The girls are reading the game ok, we’ve just got to be able to complete those passes,” said Central coach Merle Aske. “Our shots are good, we just need a little more. Maybe five yards closer.”
Central did get a solid effort from sophomore Ava Beck, who replaced an injured Taylor Thorstenson in goal. Beck made 13 saves on the day.
“I knew prior to (the game), because (Thorstenson) got a concussion,” Beck said. “I just worked extra hard at practice and tried to do the best I could to prepare.”
Aske noted Beck’s contributions in goal, but also said Thorstenson was not the only player the Golden Eagles were missing.
“We have three girls in concussion protocol,” he said. “We’ll get two of them back on Monday. Not sure about Taylor, because hers just happened. Now it’s just a matter of trying to get everyone as healthy as we can. It’s always been next one up when it comes to injuries, and the girls have done a good job.”
Central will look to end its season on an upswing when it heads to Mitchell on Tuesday for the regular-season finale.
“I think they’ve just got to relax,” Aske said. “The pressure is building now that we haven’t scored a goal, this is now the fourth game. So the pressure is building on them and I think that’s taken the fun out of it a little bit for them. They’ve got to get back to relaxing and just play a little bit.”
