BROOKINGS – Linus Johnson broke a scoreless stalemate midway through the second half to lift Aberdeen Central to a 1-0 Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ soccer victory over Brookings Thursday night on the road.

Johnson’s goal snapped what had been a back-and-forth deadlock through the game’s first 40 minutes of play.

But Central coach Lance Mohr drew up a couple adjustments at the break.

“Second half we were able to make a couple tweaks and connect with each other a little better,” Mohr said. “The goal ended up from some really good connective play. Linus was able to get inside.”

Johnson was the recipient of a Gus Bjerknes pass on the tail end of a series of passes for the Golden Eagles.

Mohr said he was glad his squad was able to reap the benefits of what the team has been working on in practice.

“I’m really glad they got rewarded for it,” he said. “They created a lot of chances in the second half and that was the difference in the game, to be honest.”

Thursday’s win marked the fourth straight and seventh overall shutout of the season for the Golden Eagles.

“Our back line did a fantastic job,” Mohr said. “There were some fire drill moments where we had to get the ball out and they did a great job.”

Central heads to Mitchell next Thursday for another Eastern South Dakota Conference contest.

“We can get our legs back under us in the next couple days and build on what we’ve been training,” Mohr said.