Aberdeen Central senior Lucy Fritz capitalized on a stellar scoring opportunity late in the first half, but Brookings had an answer late in the second half as the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw Thursday night in Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ soccer action at Brownell Activities Complex.

Fritz gathered in a long through-ball pass from Keyana Stillman with just over 90 seconds remaining in the first half and blasted home a go-ahead goal to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0.

“Amazing,” Fritz said of being able to capitalize on the play. “It’s just perfect when you can get a good through ball and then it’s just you and the goalie. See where you are and shoot it.”

The goal was the culmination of a bevy of such scoring opportunities that Central created throughout the first half.

“We did a lot of things the right way,” said Central coach Merle Aske.

Central created several opportunities for itself with long through-balls into what was a stiff breeze in the first half before Fritz was able to capitalize on her chance.

“They were doing a good job building up in the midfield,” Fritz said, “and the defense got sucked over, so Keyana played me a perfect through ball. I just knew I had to finish it.”

Getting that goal while playing into the wind was an important piece for the Golden Eagles, Aske noted.

“That was a big deal to score one and not allow one,” he said. “We saw in the boys’ game what happens when you give up one, and then have to fight back. It gets tough sometimes. The girls did a good job of playing hard in the first half.”

Playing with the wind in the second half, Central’s chances were somewhat fewer, though not none. Brianna Fischer nearly gave the Golden Eagles a second goal midway through the second stanza, but her shot from 25 yards out ricocheted off the crossbar.

Those near-misses, however, left the window of opportunity cracked for the Bobcats, who found the net with 5:41 to play to tie the game.

“We’ve got to find a way to get another goal in there so it’s not so close there at the end,” Aske said. “That’s the thing, 1-0, it’s just one shot and they tie it.”

Central had another chance at a go-ahead goal with just under four minutes to play when Addyson Salfrank played a free kick into the fray. Her shot also bounced off the crossbar.

“The girls did a good job of staying where they needed to be and moving the ball around,” Aske said. “We’ve just got to get more shots off and find a way to put one in.”

While the Golden Eagles were able to create on offense, they also got a solid effort from junior Ava Beck in goal. Beck turned back the Bobcats with several nice saves in the second half to keep Brookings at bay.

“I’d rather try and come up and miss the ball than not come up at all,” Beck said of her approach to playing in the net. “If I don’t come up, it’s just a 1 v 1, so I like to take those away before it becomes dangerous.”

Brookings had a pair of late corner kicks in the game’s final two minutes that the Golden Eagles were able to fend off despite a South Dakota sunset that sent the last vestiges of direct sunlight into Beck’s line of vision.

“When the ball was way down by the corner, it was kind of in my eyes, but I just held my glove up to block it,” Beck said. “So it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

Central, now 4-3-2 after its second straight draw, will head to Tea on Tuesday.

“Another chance to go forward,” Aske said. “It’s a team we should probably do well against and hopefully find a way to put points on the board and not allow one.”

Brookings 0 1 – 1

Aberdeen Central 1 0 – 1

First half: 1, AC, Lucy Fritz (Keyana Stillman), 38th minute.

Second half: 2, BRO, Sophia Schmit, 74th minute.

Goalies: Brookings, Ashley Reints (12 saves); Aberdeen Central, Ava Beck (8 saves).

Shots: Brookings, 22 shots, 9 on goal; Aberdeen Central 24 shots, 13 on goal.