HURON – The Aberdeen Central boys’ soccer program snagged its first win of the year Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing skid to open the season. The Golden Eagles scored a flurry of goals in the second half en-route to a 5-1 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory over Huron.

The win carried with it a mixture of emotion, said Central coach Lance Mohr. Among them, relief, both at the number of goals scored and the manner in which those goals were scored.

“We’re feeling really happy with the way we played,” he said. 

Tyson Hassebroek gave the Golden Eagles an early lead with a goal in the first half, but it was the second half where Central made its push. Hassebroek found the net for a second time, followed by Manuel Munoz with the first of his two goals. Gus Bjerknes notched one, while Munoz finished off the Golden Eagle barrage with his second score.

“The goals were really energizing for us,” Mohr said.

Huron’s lone goal came late in the second half when Aung Aung Htoo scored on a penalty kick for the Tigers.

Mohr said the 10-day break between Central’s last game and Tuesday’s contest – the Golden Eagles had to reschedule one match in that stretch – really helped his team reset.

“The mental lapses we had (in our previous three games) were because we are a young team,” he said, adding that the Golden Eagles were able to focus on attitude, effort and intensity in game-like situations. “This win is a product of being able to execute that for almost a full 80 minutes.”

Central will host Brandon Valley Saturday afternoon at Gene Brownell Activities Complex. Game time has been moved up to 12:30 p.m. to the due the forecasted heat.

“The biggest thing is the mentality and not to get complacent because we got a win,” Mohr said “Remind them how hard it is to win at this level and to work hard together.”