The Aberdeen Central boys’ soccer program is looking for a reversal of fate when it takes the field this season.

The Golden Eagles, who got off to a slow start to begin the year last season, fought all the way back to earn a spot in the playoff quarterfinals before ending the year with a 4-1 loss to top-seeded Sioux Falls Lincoln.

Central would like re-sets of both of those results.

“When I think about the playoff game last year, we had a 1-seed and an undefeated team and we were tied 1-1 at halftime,” said Central coach Lance Mohr of that playoff loss. “If you had told me at the beginning of last season that we would make the quarterfinals and be tied 1-1 at half with a good chance to move on, I’d have taken that.”

Mohr said the Golden Eagles are ready to take a step forward now.

But they’ll need to do it without the aid of its most prolific scorer foreign exchange student Manuel Munoz, and senior defenders Creighton Aberle and Jordan Grieben, and goalkeeper Camden Fauth, three of a host of players the Golden Eagles lost to graduation.

“The seniors last year felt like they’ve been here for 100 years,” Mohr quipped. “So we’ve got a refresh with some of the changing of the guard. It’s different, but it’s been interesting to see some of the guys who have been waiting in the wings stepping forward.”

Those players had the opportunity to wait and learn behind last year’s seniors, getting pitch time without needing to step into leadership roles.

“Those roles won’t be filled identical, but they’ll be filled,” Mohr said.

And that changing of the guard, so to speak, hopefully translates to a faster start.

“Last year we started the season really slow,” Mohr said. “We weren’t scoring a lot of goals, obviously Manuel helped that. We started slow, and that’s been something we’ve talked about this year. Trying to get off to a better start both in the conference and in general.”

Mohr said he expects this season’s results to be “a lot steadier” and wants his guys to be more of a long-term factor than in fits and spurts.

“We’d like to think we’re always toward the top of the heap (in the Eastern South Dakota Conference),” he added. “Whether that’s one, two or three, we‘ve always viewed ourselves as a target.”

Still, he knows his guys will need to be up to the challenge, galvanized in part by that stinging playoff loss.

“You make a mistake against a good team and that’s where the game can be kind of harsh,” he said.

The Golden Eagles begin the season Friday at Pierre and will host Sioux Falls Jefferson in the home opener on Aug. 20.