Aberdeen Central had all the numbers in its favor on Thursday afternoon except the most important one.

The Golden Eagles outshot Sioux Falls Lincoln by a wide margin, but came away empty handed in a 1-0 boys’ soccer non-conference setback at Brownell Activities Complex.

“We struggled to create a couple of really, really great chances. We had a lot of half chances is what I call them,” said Central coach Lance Mohr. “But the second half, I mean listen, they did everything they could to get a goal. So their effort was there. I’m super proud of them, it’s just the last final decision that we’ve got to clean up.”

Camden Thomas scored a first-half goal to give the Patriots the only offense they would need on the day. Once-beaten Lincoln then weathered a storm by the Golden Eagles in the second half to preserve the victory.

“I told them that at halftime, any doubt about where you guys are at, we can now put that to bed. Now it’s your job to go finish the game,” Mohr said. “And outside of one blip, I mean we played for 39 and half minutes on that side of the field and played well. It’s just fine tuning that last little bit. That last piece, that’s the hardest piece of the puzzle. That’s why there’s not many goals.”

Central spent the majority of the second half in front of the Lincoln goal, but were unable to put one in the back of the net.

“We’re getting down there, we’ve just got to connect the pieces really at the end,” said Central senior captain Hunter Erickson. “We can get down there, we’ve just got to find a way to really put the ball in the back of the net. We’re getting quality chances, we just got to finish it, work together as a team to get even better chances.”

Central outshot Lincoln by a 9-2 margin. The Golden Eagles are using their speed and athleticism to create scoring opportunities.

“We’re a young team. We use it to our advantage, too,” Erickson said. “We got a lot of speed on the outside, in the middle, and just take advantage of it, and see what we can do with it.”

The Golden Eagles, 6-2-3 on the season, are in the middle of a tough couple of games. Not only did Central face top-seeded Lincoln on Thursday, they now head to once-beaten Watertown on Monday.

“We’re getting closer, we’re making progress,” Mohr said, “so I’m really proud of them.”

Erickson is looking forward to the upcoming matchup against the Arrows.

“I’m really excited for that game They’re a really good team,” Erickson said. “They know how to score and how to defend, so I’m really excited to see how we match up with them.”

Sioux Falls Lincoln 1 0 – 1

Aberdeen Central 0 0 – 0

First Half: 1, SFL, Camden Thomas.

Shots on Goal: Sioux Falls Lincoln 2; Aberdeen Central 9.

Goalies: Sioux Falls Lincoln, Quinten Hernes (9 saves); Aberdeen Central, Zander Kuhfeld (1 save).