The possession of the ball was there, the shots on goal were there, but in the end, the scoring wasn’t there for Aberdeen Central on Thursday evening.

The Golden Eagles came up short in a 1-0 girls’ soccer non-conference setback to Sioux Falls Lincoln at Brownell Activities Complex Thursday night.

The contest marked the second home outing in a row where Central was unable to score a goal.

“Sometimes you just get in a funk and I don’t know, you can’t buy a way out. We haven’t had a lucky a break here or there,” said Central coach Merle Aske. “We haven’t had a bounce. … They’ve got a really good keeper, but we’re doing everything the right way. We’re moving the ball, the runs are looking good, we’re getting in behind, we just can’t get that shot off to put it in the back of the net. Eventually it’s going to come and when it comes it will probably be a lot of them, hopefully.”

Central outshot the Patriots by a 36-18 margin, and had 16 shots on goal. The Golden Eagles did everything but find the back of the net.

“That’s soccer in a nutshell. I’ve been around it a long time,” Aske said. “There’s sometimes you outshoot a team 40-2 and they score two goals and you score none. It’s one of those things that happens, but like I told the girls, they have to believe in what we’re doing, because the look is there, the ball movement is there, everything is there. We just got to find that lucky break to get that goal.”

Central had numerous opportunities, especially in the second half. Senior captain Gracie Lozenski led an offensive attack that pressured the Lincoln goal.

“We’ve been connecting a lot better,” Lozenski said. “I think we’ll get there eventually.”

Lozenski is able to maneuver her way around and past defenders with slick ball-handling skills.

“I just try and push my way through, try and play the balls through to the wings,” Lozenski said. “I just make sure to always try my hardest.”

Lozenski had one move in the final 40 minutes where she spun past a defender to fire off a shot, but like all of her team’s attempts against the Patriots it did not land in the goal.

“I like getting it from the throw-ins and turning around,” Lozenski said. “That’s like my spot, right up at the 18. I didn’t get lucky tonight, but sometimes they’ll get there.”

The Patriots scored the only goal of the contest on a unique situation. A player found a razor-sharp angle on an attempt from the far right-hand side of the pitch that landed just out of the reach of Central goalkeeper Taylor Thorstenson.

“With the way our field is, the sun’s in the goalies eyes, and she goes up and tries to get the ball, and she can’t really see it very well and then it just happens to fall in,” Aske said. “It’s one of those things, we could play this game a hundred times and that shot never goes in again.”

Instead, it did go in giving the Patriots the narrow win.

Central, 4-5-2 on the season, has three games left during the regular season before the playoffs. Aske said he likes the way his team is trending regardless of where it ends up in the playoff positioning.

“We hope to get all three, but again the work is there, so … wherever we go into the playoffs, I think the look is going to be there,” Aske said. “It’s just a matter of getting it done.”

Lozenski said a recent change in the lineup has given the squad a boost and will help the team moving forward.

“We need to keep working as hard as we are. We got a new lineup and I feel like it’s working really good for us,” Lozenski said. “We’re connecting a lot more, and if we keep connecting and playing our hardest, we’re going to go far.”

Sioux Falls Lincoln 1 0 – 1

Aberdeen Central 0 0 – 0

First Half: 1, SFL, Selah Qika, 28th minute.

Shots: Sioux Falls Lincoln 18 shots, 7 on goal; Aberdeen Central 36 shots, 16 on goal.

Goalies: Sioux Falls Lincoln, Ilee Neemeyer (16 saves); Aberdeen Central, Taylor Thorstenson (6 saves).