STURGIS – A pair of hat tricks from Keyanna Stillman and Brianna Fischer sparked a big 10-0 road victory over Sturgis for the Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer program to open the campaign.
The Golden Eagles, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Kendra Hanley, posted five goals in each half, including a seven-minute stretch of the second half that saw all five of Central’s second-stanza scores.
“It was nice to see what we’ve been preparing for and working towards come to life,” Hanley said. “All around, we played as a unit and worked combination plays into the attack.”
Fischer scored two of her three goals in the first half and finished her day with a pair of assists. Stillman notched the final goal of the first half, then scored on back-to-back opportunities in the 71st and 72nd minutes of action to open the flood gates of the second half.
Jaxi Lozenski had two goals in the first half, while Espynn Kuhfeld had a goal and two assists, as Central raced away with the win.
“The shots we had tonight were beautiful,” Hanley said. “We were organized from back to top. We worked the ball all the way back to our keeper and back up the field.”
Hanley added that a key component of the Golden Eagles’ victory won’t show up in any column of the scorebook.
“One important piece was patience,” she said. “(The girls) were able to wait, hold and keep the ball. When you’re able to do that, you are no longer one-dimensional. It creates various options and allows for creativity and different runs off the ball.”
Senior goaltender Ava Beck made a single save in goal to earn the shutout victory for Central.
With Friday’s victory in tow, the Golden Eagles head to Spearfish today to face a Spartan squad that dropped a 5-3 decision to Tea Area on Friday. Game time is set for noon (MDT).
SCORING
First half: 1, Jaxi Lozenski, 8th minute; 2, Brianna Fischer, 13th minute; 3, Lozenski (Fischer, Espynn Kuhfeld), 32nd minute; 4, Fischer (Kuhfeld), 35th minute; 5, Keyanna Stillman, 37th minute.
Second half: 6, Stillman, 71st minute; 7, Stillman (Fischer), 72nd minute; 8, Kuhfeld, 75th minute; 9, Lozenski (Chloecherie Heagley), 77th minute; 9, Fischer (Stillman), 78th minute.
Goalies: Aberdeen Central, Ava Beck (1 save); Sturgis, Izzy Wolkenhauer (1 save).
Shots: Aberdeen Central 26.
