BROOKINGS The Brookings Bobcats fell on both ends of a doubleheader against Aberdeen Central at the Fishback Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon. The boys lost to the Golden Eagles 2-0 in the first game of the double while the girls lost 3-1 in the nightcap.
The Bobcats will return to action Thursday when they travel to a doubleheader at Watertown beginning at 4 p.m.
Boys
Aberdeen Central 2, Brookings 0
Aberdeen Central had a strong defensive performance that limited the Bobcats to one shot as the Golden Eagles defeated Brookings 2-0 in the first game of Saturdays doubleheader.
While Brookings head coach Reece Weber credited Aberdeen for limiting his team to just one shot by Dominic van Hofwegen, he also wanted to see a better mindset from his team after the game.
Weve got to figure out how to break down teams that are going to be disciplined defensively but the other thing is just a mentality change, Weber said. We have to change our mentality. Weve got to come into games more competitive and be willing to battle for a win.
The Golden Eagles limited space for the Bobcats to create and it allowed them to take the lead on Gavin Yosts goal in the 22nd minute. After going into halftime with a 1-0 advantage, Arnau Hernansez doubled Aberdeens lead with a goal in the 56th minute.
While Brookings couldnt go offensively, Weber saw some positives thanks to the Bobcats time of possession. But his teams turnovers negated those positives and the lack of energy gave the Golden Eagles the advantage they needed to earn the victory.
We gave the ball away too much, Weber said. We could have held the ball better, but at the end of the day, its just a mentality. Its about wanting to compete for 80 minutes and wanting to battle. We have maybe two, or three players that want to battle consistently, but we need 11 to 15 guys to do it all the time.
Brookings goalkeeper Tony Nguyen made a pair of saves and the Bobcats had three corner kicks in the loss.
Girls
Aberdeen Central 3, Brookings 1
Brookings coach Adam Juba saw some positives from the Bobcats but he believes his team needs to work on its composure after a 3-1 loss to the Golden Eagles.
I think we can work on being calm and thorough during those stressful situations in the game, Juba said. In those times when games are tight, we know we can potentially win the game or hold a tight lead. I think those are the moments where we can work on and really thrive.
One of the developments for the Bobcats was shifting some players around a new formation to create chances. After Brianna Fischer scored at 14:57 for the first goal, Brookings answered when Aubry Giard created a rush on the wing and created traffic in front of the net before Lexi Erp tied the game at 22:32.
Aubrey did a great job on that goal, Juba said. She realized she was out on the wing. She had nobody with her, which is sometimes the reality of the game, and she decided she needed to go one-on-one and hold up the ball until we got numbers forward and then she drove into the box.
Ill be honest, once that ball got played across the box, there were a lot of people in it, bouncing around. I couldnt see the ball from the sideline and then it squeaked out to the other side for Lexi.
Aberdeen regained the lead on Keyana Stillmans goal at 35:54 in the first half and scored her second goal at 60:50 to cap the scoring.
Giard had three shots with one on goal. Grace Romsa had a pair of shots. Erp and Sophia Schmit each had a shot on goal.
While the Bobcats fell to 0-2-1 this season, Juba was encouraged by his teams performance and the use of the Bobcats’ new formation.
I think the girls liked playing in the new formation and they settled in really, really well, Juba said. We were able to possess the ball a lot more than we had in our first two games this year.
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