Sekou Gogue scored twice on senior day and freshman Zander Kuhfeld came up big in goal as Aberdeen Central battled Yankton to a 2-2 draw in Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ soccer action Saturday afternoon at Golden Eagles Field.

“It wasn’t a win, but to be honest with the way we played – we came out and just didn’t play with great effort and intensity, which is really surprising for us,” said Central coach Lance Mohr. “I thought we wore that like a wet blanket. The second half, we came out and got a big energy boost from Sekou. … A draw is a result we will take today.”

Central gave up an early goal in the first half to Yankton’s Ty Binde and went into the second half down 1-0.

The Golden Eagles, however, wasted little time getting on the board in the second half on the first of two Gogue goals.

“We started off really flat,” Gogue said. “We didn’t have much defensive pressure. But in the second half, we kind of got chewed out, and that really helped us. It lit a fire.”

The Bucks took advantage of a corner kick opportunity with just over 23 minutes left in the game, as Simon Schulz drove home what was, at the time, the go-ahead goal.

But Gogue wasn’t done, as the senior snared the ball in the middle of the field, shook a defender and fired home the tying goal.

“(Gogue), quite frankly, bailed us out,” Mohr said. “He made two unbelievable shots and that was what we needed.”

Kufeld, normally Central’s back-up goalkeeper, got the start in the net Saturday for junior Camden Fauth, who had to sit out the game after getting red carded in Central’s win over Watertown on Tuesday.

“He was fantastic,” Mohr said. “We expected that from Zander. … We know he’s capable. That wasn’t a huge concern today. None of the guys felt it, either. It was big to see him step up. I thought he played fantastic today.”

Central, now 7-2-2 on the season, has one game remaining at Mitchell on Tuesday before heading into the postseason.

Yankton 1 1 – 2

Aberdeen Central 0 2 – 2

First Half

1, Y, Ty Binde, 23rd minute.

Second Half

2, AC, Sekou Gogue, 39th minute, 3, Simon Schultz, Y, 67th minute; 4, AC, Gogue, 65th minute (Tyler Bain).

Shots on Goal: Yankton 10; Aberdeen Central 6.

Goalies: Yankton, Luke Abbott (4 saves); Aberdeen Central, Zander Kuhfeld (8 saves).