Aberdeen Central scored twice in the first half and once in the second to move past Brookings 3-0 in the opening round of the Class AA boys’ soccer playoffs Tuesday evening at Brownell Activities Complex.
The win was a marked contrast from the first meeting between the two teams less than a month ago when the Golden Eagles trailed for much of the game before rallying late for a 2-1 win.
Central wasted no time getting on the board in Tuesday’s all-or-nothing affair, as Lincoln Stone drove home what proved to be the game-winner early on in the first half.
Linus Johnson added an insurance goal after a long through-ball up the middle from Bryson Burgard with 12:51 to play in the half.
“It was really good,” said Central junior Gus Bjerknes of those early goals. “We needed to come out and do that and break the ice and get our feet under us and get things rolling.”
Then things turned chippy in the second half. The Bobcats, with the season on the line, turned to a more aggressive style of play than they played in the first half.
“A 2-goal lead is the worst lead in soccer, for whatever reason, because you feel like you’ve got an insurance policy that isn’t really there,” said Central coach Lance Mohr. “We fought through those moments, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
Brookings nearly halved Central’s lead about midway through the second half when Forrest Giard sent a free kick on a direct line toward the net. Central goalie Zander Kuhfeld, however, batted the shot away to preserve both the lead and the shutout.
“He makes saves like that look easy,” Mohr said. “We’re just so spoiled because we’re so used to it.”
Despite Brookings’ aggressiveness in the second half, Mohr said he liked the way his team dug in and didn’t let up even though the Golden Eagles had the lead.
“Teams that win playoff games execute at a higher level and have all their players clicking for 80 minutes,” Mohr said. “That’s what we did. That’s really what it comes down to at the end of the game. I thought (our guys) were absolutely fantastic, effort-wise, for 80 minutes. There were some blips there where we could have done things differently, but in the playoffs it brings out a different mentality, different moments and that’s what we saw in the second half. We hung on through it.”
Bjerkness scored the game’s final goal with just under five minutes remaining, sending a shot toward the goal that bounced off a defender or two before making its way into the net.
“It barely went in,” Bjerkness said with a laugh, “but it did and it just calmed things down. We got our heads back screwed on right and started playing our game again.”
Mohr said that third goal was as important as the first two for the Golden Eagles.
“That was the stamp that we needed, that we were looking for to finish the game,” he said. “I was really proud that they fought through it. There were some adverse moments like it is; it’s the playoffs, so that happens, but then to get that last one was absolutely critical to get that goal and ice the game.”
Central’s reward is another home game, this time hosting sixth-seeded Sioux Falls Christian at noon on Saturday. The two teams did not meet during the course of the regular season.
“There’s a whole lot of seniors that want to win this,” Bjerkness said. “I want to win this. So, just gotta go at it and win it.”
