SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central struck early, but Sioux Falls Lincoln weathered the storm Thursday night.
The Patriots held Central scoreless in the final 78 minutes en route to a 2-1 non-conference girls’ soccer victory.
Central’s Lucy Fritz scored a goal in the second minute of the contest off a feed from Keyana Stillman to give the Golden Eagles an early boost.
“We started really well. We got a goal early,” said Central coach Merle Aske. “The girls played really well for the first 20 minutes or so, and then we kind of got on our heels a little bit.”
Lincoln tied the score in the first half before producing the game-winner right after halftime.
Ava Beck finished with 11 saves in goal for the Golden Eagles.
“They’re a decent team. They had several good looks and they capitalized on two of them,” Aske said. “Ava made a couple of really good saves to keep us in it. She had one in the first half to keep it tied.”
Aske said the Eagles eventually starting wearing down a bit playing in their second game in three days with two long road trips.
“The girls did a good job even though the legs were kind of fading toward to the end,” Aske said.
Central has three games remaining, starting by hosting Watertown at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Brownell Activities Complex. Aske said the Golden Eagles still have a chance to host an opening-round playoff game.
“We got a lot to play for yet. We’re still getting better. That first 20 minutes may have been the best we’ve looked all year,” Aske said. “It’s just a matter of figuring out a way to keep that momentum going. We gotta create more chances. We just didn’t create enough chances tonight.”
Aberdeen Central 1 0 – 1
Sioux Falls Lincoln 1 1 – 2
First Half: 1, AC, Lucy Fritz (Keyana Stillman), 2nd minute; 2, SFL, Lainey Rogers (Gemma Oppenheimer), 26th minute.
Second Half: 3, SFL, Regan VanMeeteren, 43rd minute.
Goalies: Aberdeen Central, Ava Beck (11 saves); Sioux Falls Lincoln, Leighton Crawford (8 saves).
Shots: Aberdeen Central, 18 shots, 9 on goal; Sioux Falls Lincoln, 24 shots, 13 on goal.
