Aberdeen Central took all the suspense out of its final regular-season encounter Thursday night, and that was just fine with Golden Eagles coach Lance Mohr.

Central exploded for four first-half goals and rolled to a 5-0 win over Pierre in Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ soccer action at Brownell Activities Complex.

“We really wanted to have this be a boring game in the sense that we controlled it,” Mohr said. “We had a lot of things that we’ve been working on, especially since rearview mirror, (a loss at) Yankton, use it to motivate us this week … and there’s a lot of things where we have to get better, that we’ve got to clean up.”

Once the Golden Eagles had the lead they were not about to let the Governors have any hope.

“So tonight, the second half, quite frankly, it was exactly how I wanted to conduct the second half,” Mohr said.

Central received five goals from two different players. Tyson Hassebroek had a hat trick, while Manuel Munoz added a pair of goals. The two also assisted on each other’s goals.

Munoz got the scoring started in the first six minutes before Hassebroek took a feed from Munoz and perfectly placed a ball in the left corner. Hassebroek then fed Munoz with an ideal pass for a goal before scoring his second on a blast from the perimeter. In the second half it was Munoz who fed Hassebroek for this third goal of the evening.

“My first goal was just communication with him. He played the long ball through and then instead of cutting outside of the guy I cut inside and beat him to it,” Hassebroek said of his connection with Munoz. “The second one I turned in and I took a rocket and it felt good. My third one was just a beauty. I liked it more than all. He did all the work and I just placed it.”

Hassebroek and Munoz definitely had a connection going throughout the contest.

“Those two were on the same page. They played really, realy well together,” Mohr said. “They used each other. I thought we were very, very unselfish tonight with the goals that we scored, which is fantastic.”

Mohr joked that it was a haircut that made all the difference for Hassebroek.

“I’ve been joking about Tyson to get a haircut the entire season, because he could never see the goal,” Mohr said. “He was missing it. So now he gets a haircut, and voila, there’s a goal.”

Hassebroek did not deny the impact of the new hairdo.

“I had really long hair and it was kind of tough to see,” Hassebroek said. “And then I got a hat trick because I cut my hair and it feels good.”

The Central defense prevented the Governors from seeing the goal all night long. The Golden Eagles allowed just one shot on net the entire contest.

“They were really quick, especially the wingers,” said Central defender Sam Franks, “but I think as a line we worked really well at taking away their angles, and we really limited their chances.”

Franks said getting an early lead in the contest can help the defense, but also ignite the opposing offense.

“It really does take some pressure off the defense,” Franks said, “but then again it revs up the opposing team’s offense. It gives us momentum, so it does help us.”

Central, which finished the regular season with a 8-4 record, has won eight of its last nine games. The Golden Eagles will carry a lot of momentum in the postseason when they host a home playoff game on Tuesday.

When asked what it will take for the squad to have a successful postseason run, Hassebroek responded, “It will take all of us young guys to just man up and don’t be so scared going in, and then the older guys hyping us up and getting us going.”

Mohr and his players said they are prepared and set for the playoffs.

“It’s going to be a lot of intensity and I’m ready for it. I think the team’s ready for it,” Franks said. “We’re going 110 percent in practice. We’re locked in.”

Pierre 0 0 – 0

Aberdeen Central 4 1 – 5

First Half: 1, AC, Manuel Munoz, 6^th minute; 2, AC, Tyson Hassebroek (Munoz), 9^th minute; 3, AC, Munoz (Hassebroek), 28^th minute; 4, AC, Hassebroek, 38^th minute.

Second Half: 5, AC, Hassebroek (Munoz), 39^th minute.

Shots on Goal: Pierre 1; Aberdeen Central 12.

Goalies: Pierre, Haley Fabel (7 saves); Aberdeen Central, Camden Fauth (1 save).