YANKTON – Aberdeen Central came up with the right formula to shut down Yankton in a 2-0 Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ soccer win on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles were ready for Yankton’s style and had an answer to combat it.
“We played really well today. The girls did a good job of getting the ball where we needed it and holding them off,” said Central coach Merle Aske. “A team like Yankton, they always try to hold the ball and get their counter-attack going, and the girls did a good job of just shutting that down today.”
Central got a goal in the final five minutes of the first half from Keyana Stillman, and that helped to set the tone for the remainder of the contest.
“We had a couple of opportunities, and then we got the finish there right at the end of the first half,” Aske said. “That deflated them a little bit and we came out in the second half and started really well.”
Central tacked on an insurance goal in the second half when Lucy Fritz found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, the Gazelles were unable to put much pressure on the Central goal.
“They were just really focused the entire game,” Aske said of his players. “Ava Beck only had six shots on the game. We just didn’t give them many looks.”
Central, which closes out the regular season by hosting Mitchell on Tuesday, is playing some of its best soccer of the season, according to Aske.
“This time of the year is when you want to be playing your best soccer and doing everything the right way,” Aske said, “and the girls really proved that today.”
Central will look forward to putting forth a big effort on Senior Day on Tuesday and finishing the regular season on a high note before the upcoming playoffs.
“Right now we’ve got a good opportunity to finish in the top half of the ESD, which we didn’t do last year,” Aske said. “It would be good to show up against Mitchell and play a really good game again, and be ready for the playoffs in a week.”
Aberdeen Central 1 1 – 2
Yankton 0 0 – 0
First Half: 1, AC, Keyana Stillman, 35th minute.
Second Half: 2, AC, Lucy Fritz, 71st minute.
Goalies: Aberdeen Central, Ava Beck (6 saves); Yankton , Elaine Mohnen (8 saves).Shots: Aberdeen Central, 21 shots, 10 on goal; Yankton, 16 shots, 6 on goal.
