MN Aurora Open Second Preseason with Positivity
The snow is gone, the kits are out, and MN Aurora FC has begun preseason training ahead of their second season in the USL-W League. Following a busy offseason of recruiting and building out the front and technical offices, the club returned to TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota, on Monday, May 8. With 17 of 28 players returning from the inaugural squad, the team already seemed to be coming together on the second day of training when players and coaches met with the media.
"They've been great. It's now about you know, getting people to just settle down a little bit," said head coach Nicole Lukic, after the open session. "There's tons of energy floating around out here in a great way but getting people to relax and shake out the nerves and just start trusting each other is what this week is going to be about."
Players like Mariah Nguyen, Kristelle Yewah, Taylor Kane, Bayliss Flynn, and Morgan Stone, have returned from successful (both on and off the pitch) school seasons. They are joined by a number of new players who bring their own impressive resumés and experiences - Vienna Behnke, Tianna Harris, and Hannah Adler. Four more players will join by the weekend, after completing their college finals: Rami and Eli Rapp (two of the returning Rapp Trio) and newcomers Brenlin Mullaney and Paola Then. Ahead of a season that may look far different than their groundbreaking inaugural year, the focus this week is on what Lukic calls the Aurora Way.
"When you're recruiting you see film and obviously we have a lot of returners, but they all play differently with their collegiate or professional teams that they're normally a part of. So to get them out here and start teaching them the Aurora way -- it feels really good and really fun to just watch them play and start connecting with each other."
One of those returning players is midfielder Morgan Stone. After scoring a Sports Center Top 10 goal, Stone went on to start every match for Boise State in the 2022 season, contributing 4 goals and 5 assists. She is excited to return to an expanded league and an expanded team.
"It's a lot of returners but there's a lot of new people on the team and it's nice because I know some of the girls super well, they're some of my best friends. But we are a completely different team and we still have to learn each other," Stone explained. "I think the teams have grown a lot so we can't come in confident that we're gonna win every game like we did last season. We have to be confident in who we are, but respect our opponent enough to know that we have to put up a fight every day and everybody's going to be coming for us."
Asked about the league expansion, Coach Lukic pointed to growth in markets that Minnesota has struggled to match for generations: "There are two brand new divisions on the west coast and the west coast is loaded with soccer talent. A lot of those players are playing in spaces year round that people in Minnesota don't or aren't fortunate to have."
But that's precisely what this league was designed for: To challenge and prepare young players seeking to go to the next level. Lukic explained: "We don't want an easy environment. Our players are here they want to grow and get better every day. Us coaches as well so it's really nice to see the W League growing and making a name for itself on the women's side."
This season's roster includes a couple of players who have already made that jump. Midfielder Vienna Behnke played her collegiate career at UW-Milwaukee before joining Haukar in the Lengjudeildin league, Iceland's second division, in 2017. She scored 32 goals in 71 appearances for Haukar before joining Fylkir (Reykjavik, Iceland) in 2022. Following another impressive, impactful season, Behnke has returned to the Midwest for a competitive offseason, closer to family and friends.
"This is the first time I've been in the US playing - for the last five years I was overseas. And actually the away games that we have [in Wisconsin] are closer to where I'm from so I think I'll have some cohorts of fans at the away games," Behnke said. "I've got a couple lined up. They're excited for the opener."
Behnke and Lukic already knew each other so it was an easy move to make and early impressions of the club are all positive.
"I've been kind of in a lot of different [playing] environments and this one is extremely organized, well put together. Like the coaches know what they're doing; the board knows what they're doing. The owners are involved and that's like a really transparent way to run a club. And that's really refreshing to have everybody all on the same page."
While everyone agrees the club likely won't repeat their undefeated season and league-leading defense, players and staff alike are embracing the process. They've added a mental skills coach in Jenn Ireland to bolster a "new year, new squad" mindset. ("Last year was great but now it just has to be neutral thoughts," Lukic explained.) The front office has also grown with the arrival of the club's first Chief Operations Officer, Jessica Poole. And the 3080 community owners elected two representatives, Jamie Becker-Finn and Mai-Ahn Tran, to the board.
But most importantly, they are embracing the journey.
"I think everybody here is very serious about soccer, and everybody respects the game and has the same passion and love for the game," Stone said. "It really reminds me of why I love soccer and why I'm passionate for this sport, because it can go through ups and downs in your career. But being around people that just love the game as much as you is just such a fun environment to be in."
Aurora fans will have their first opportunity to add to the environment at TCO Stadium in Eagan on Wednesday, May 24, when Aurora opens the season against W League newcomers Rochester FC.
Photo Gallery: MN Aurora Kit Reveal and Team Welcome
Month: May 2023
On Sunday, Minnesota Aurora hosted a Kit Reveal and Team Welcome event at the Mall of America where the team unveiled their 2023 “Instant Classic” Home Kit, welcomed back returning players, and introduced new players for the 2023 season.
Aurora begins their season with a match against Rochester at TCO stadium on Wednesday, May 24th at 7pm.
Photo Gallery: Minneapolis City vs Minnesota United U19's in the MN Super Cup
Minneapolis City SC hosted the Minnesota United u19 squad during an MN Super Cup match at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 5th, 2023. The Minnesota United u19 squad, coached by Fanendo Adi, was able to overcome Carl Craig’s Crows by a score of 1-0 behind a goal from Miguel Leon.
Northern Lights Football is looking for contributors!
Welcome to Northern Lights Football!
Founded in 2021, we are a news site dedicated to covering, promoting, and growing local soccer in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. We provide coverage of various different amateur and semi-professional leagues and clubs stretching from Ohio in the east to the Dakotas in the west. Northern Lights Football is also a sister site to Minnesota pro soccer focused Northland Soccer Journal, formerly E Pluribus Loonum of SBNation.
We’re always looking for talented contributors, no matter what that talent might be. You’ll find a list of our current openings below, but if you don’t find something that fits your set of abilities, please contact us with the information at the bottom of this posting.
All of our positions at are on a volunteer basis. We do not require any formal training — meaning this is a great way to pick up experience — however you do have to have the some foundational skills.
Without further ado, here are our current openings:
General Contributor, Writer: Ability to write cohesively in loose AP-Style; Ability to discover and tell interesting stories; Ability to write original opinion pieces
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Contributions for this position can take on many forms, including original reporting, news stories, features, analysis and opinion.
Interested? Email ashle@lightsfootball.com with one writing sample (preferably on a sports-related topic) or photo gallery (or link to one) and explain why you would be a good fit on our team.
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2023 Minnesota Super Cup Preview
This Friday night a brand new tournament will kick off when Minneapolis City SC hosts Minnesota United FC's U19 Academy side at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis. Six clubs representing four different leagues will make up the field for the competition's first season of play in 2023.
The MNSC isn't a unique idea, I feel versions of it have been talked about for years.
This version grew out of the idea of bringing the fractured pre-professional leagues in Minnesota together in meaningful competition, something more that friendlies or closed door matches.
A competition that would hopefully excite the clubs, players, and supporters, bringing more energy and growth to the already vibrant Minnesota soccer community.
- Jon Martinson on the creation of the Minnesota Super Cup
The 2023 format of the Minnesota Super Cup will see the six teams broken up into two groups of three, with each team playing the others once in the group stage. Group A will consist of Duluth FC (NPSL), Minneapolis City SC (USL2), and MNUFC U19 Academy (MLS Next), while Group B is made up of Med City FC (NPSL), St. Croix Legends (USL2), and Vlora FC (UPSL). Following the group stage the top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals to be played July 21-23, the semi-final winners will advance to the Minnesota Super Cup Final to be held at Macalester Stadium in St. Paul on July 29th.
The Minnesota Super Cup first season will see some very notable and unique first time matches, a short lived derby revived (in a way), and a bitter rivalry continue. Group B is entirely made up of first time matches as the three sides have never faced any team in the group in competitive play. Group A on the other hand has a little bit of everything, the tournament opening match between Minneapolis City SC and MNUFC U19 will see the Crows face a Loons side in competitive play for the first time since the 2016 Premier League of America season. The second group match and fourth match overall will pit Duluth FC against an MNUFC side for the first time in club history. Rounding out Group A and the fifth match overall, a bitter rivalry will continue with Minneapolis City SC hosting Duluth FC as the only match of 2023 between the Crows and BlueGreens.
The MNSC is not a one and done tournament. Like I previously mentioned this is being built to be a long term, cornerstone event for Minnesota soccer.
We are obviously very focused on this summer, but we do have a number of initiatives in progress. For example, we are in the process of finalizing the entry rules for the 2024 tournament. Clubs eligibility for the MNSC will be based on their league performances much like Champions League. Look for more details on that soon.
My goal for the tournament is to create a platform to showcase Minnesota soccer talent, from clubs, to players, to referees, while fostering community and support for that talent. (And maybe starting a few good rivalries at the same time).
- Jon Martinson on the Minnesota Super Cup going forward
In 2024 the Minnesota Super Cup will see a format change, expanding to eight clubs from the present six. The top two finishing Minnesota based clubs in both USL League Two and NPSL will gain entry to the tournament. The other four sides entering will be the top finishing UPSL, MLS Next, and MASL Division 1 sides from Minnesota along with a single open qualifying team. The open qualifying path for the 2024 MNSC is open to all Minnesota based "pre-professional clubs that meet the minimum standards for entry into the competition" and will have a playing window of August 1st, 2023 to March 1st, 2024.
Minneapolis City SC will stream the opening Minnesota Super Cup match on Eleven Sports. For more MNUFC centric Minnesota Super Cup coverage you can head over to Northland Soccer Journal to read the preview on the U19's in the tournament.