Neither rain, nor wind, nor a dramatic drop in temperature could slow down the Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer team Tuesday night.

The Golden Eagles won their fifth straight game with a 4-1 non-conference decision over Sioux Falls Roosevelt at Brownell Activities Complex.

“When the weather is bad, you just have to be focused, do what you normally do, hope you don’t get a bad break there,” said Central coach Merle Aske.

The Eagles went into a strong northern wind, sustained at 20 miles per hour in the opening half. That did nothing to deter the squad which scored a pair of first-half goals.

“Typically we play a little better into the wind, because it suits our style a little bit,” Aske said. “It actually slows some of our passes down so they go where they’re supposed to. Going with the wind sometimes (we) have a tendency to get in a hurry and play balls that we shouldn’t be playing, and it gets away from us.”

Central struck in the 27th minute when Deshani Peters played in a corner kick that eventually ended up caroming to Abby Witte who put the ball in the back of the goal on a header.

“It went to Taylor (Lyke) first and I was able to get that rebound which was really special, because I usually go front post because I’m kind of short and it doesn’t go there,” Witte said. “So it was really cool to finally put it in the back of the net.”

Peters was just getting started on the night. She scored about 3 1/2 minutes later on a breakaway, outsprinting her defender for a one-on-one opportunity at the Rough Riders’ goalie on an assist from Witte.

The score remained 2-0 until Roosevelt inched to within one less than 10 minutes into the second half on a penalty kick. However, that was all the visitors could muster on the night as Central continued its strong defensive play.

“We’ve definiltey been working on it a lot at practice,” said Central goalie Ciara Frank of her team’s style, “and I think the chemistry between our players has been getting a lot better as the season’s been going on, so that helps”

Peters wasn’t finished yet, drilling a pair of long-range goals from about 30-yards out, catching everyone off guard with her quick release.

“With her back to the goal and moving sideways, she’s really good at that,” Aske said, “at just turning and hitting the ball hard and keeping it on frame.”

While Peters can be impactful with either foot, Aske said that the senior standout would rather go left.

“She can go either way. She prefers to go left, and a lot of teams know that,” Aske said. “When she can make those turns quickly like that, it’s hard for those defenders to catch up. She gets that one foot of space, she can hit the ball and put it in.”

Lauren Joosten assisted on both of the those goals.

Witte, who finished with a goal and an assist, said the Eagles are difficult to defend, because multiple players are a threat to score from a variety of spots on the pitch.

“I think with some other teams they have one player that you can kind of zone-in on and shut them down,” Witte said, “but we just have so many weapons, it’s really hard to shut us all down at once.”

Meanwhile, Central plays an affective style that always manages to slow down foes because of its ball control and possession.

“If we play our game, play possession and do what we want to do,” Aske said, “it’s going to be hard for the other team to find a way to get going.”

And when they do get a rare opportunity, Frank is there to wipe them away.

On this evening, there was another challenge in addition to Riders, as players were forced to deal with the fall-like elements just one day after near triple-digit heat indexes.

“I was shivering back there the whole time,” Frank said, “and it’s kind of tough when the ball’s wet and you’re gloves are soaked.”

The Eagles, 6-1, will put their five-game winning streak on the line when they travel to Harrisburg on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s Class AA state championship.

It’s one that the squad is looking forward to, but also understands that it’s still a regular-season contest.

“It’s definitely a big game and I think we’re really well prepared,” Witte said. “We’ve been working towards this all season but at the end of the day, a win or a loss, it’s not a knock-out round, so we’ll move on and we’ll come back better.”

Sioux Falls Roosevelt  0 1 – 1

Aberdeen Central 2 2 – 4

First Half: 1, AC, Abby Witte, 27 minute; 2, AC, Deshani Peters (Witte), 31^st minute.

Second Half: 3, SFR, Taite Sheafer (penalty kick), 48^th minute; 4, AC, Peters (Lauren Joosten), 65^th minute; 5, AC, Peters (Joosten), 73^rd minute.

Shots on Goal: Sioux Falls Roosevelt 18 (8 on goal); Aberdeen Central 25 (12 on goal).

Goalies: Sioux Falls Roosevelt, Madi Haug-Ramm (8 saves); Aberdeen Central, Ciara Frank (7 saves).