For the first 10 minutes of the game, nerves were on high alert for the Aberdeen Central boys’ soccer program.

For the next 70, the Golden Eagles were in complete control.

Central scored three goals in a nine-minute span in the first half, then capitalized on a picture-perfect corner kick in the second half en route to a 4-0 win over Tea Area Tuesday evening in the opening round of the Class AA boys’ soccer playoffs at Brownell Activities Complex.

Linus Johnson, Bryson Burgard and Tyler Bain each scored in the first half, while Gavin Yost cleaned up the corner kick in the second half. The visiting Titans, while creating a couple of scoring opportunities for themselves, never seriously threatened the Golden Eagles after the scoring began.

“With the first playoff game, you never know what’s going to happen in the first 10 minutes,” said Central coach Lance Mohr. “You know it can go really bad if you’re not ready to go. So we prevented that, but at the same time there were definitely nerves and we were definitely a little unsure and a little unsteady in a couple moments. But so were they, so it goes back and forth. We did what we needed to get some goals and settle in.”

Johnson’s goal with just over 20 minutes to go in the half broke the dam of nerves. The junior headed the ball into the lower corner of the net for what proved to be the game-winner. Burgard followed less than five minutes later, while Tyler Bain took a nice pass over the defense with 11:53 to play and knocked home the goal to put Central up 3-0 at the half.

“It was a really nice ball over the top,” Bain said. “I got a touch and it was bouncing. I hit it while it was bouncing.”

Bain wasn’t done, however, as he placed a second-half corner kick in perfect position for Yost to head the ball into the net.

“We work on those a lot,” Bain said. “I try to place them in mostly the same spot every time so someone can get a head on it, and someone did.”

That goal came with just over 90 seconds gone in the second half, and the Golden Eagles coasted from there.

“When we came out we were a little nervous and we weren’t really sure what was going to happen,” Bain said. “As soon as we got past that, we started playing how we knew we could play.”

Central’s reward for the win is a road trip to Sioux Falls to take on third-seeded Sioux Falls Jefferson Saturday afternoon. The two teams tied during the regular-season meeting back on Aug. 20 in Aberdeen.

“We really believed in how we were progressing,” Mohr said. “To get this win just adds to the confidence. … If we want to (continue to play), we’ve got to be confident and switched on and playing well, and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re going to look to maximize the time we have for training, understand the opponent and build from there.”

Tea Area 0 0 – 0

Aberdeen Central 3 1 – 4

First half: 1, AC, Linus Johnson, 20:07; 2, AC, Bryson Burgard, 15:27; 3, AC, Tyler Bain, 11:53.

Second half: 4, AC, Gavin Yost (Bain), 38:23.