Recap & Photos: Aurora 2 Draws 3-3 with Granite City
Aurora2 hosted Granite City FC on Saturday, May 25 – Aurora’s third match in seven days. The fatigue showed but Aurora managed to play the Rocks to a high-scoring draw, 3-3. It started early with Leah Brown finishing a ball from Sophia Haase in the 8th minute to put the Rocks up 1-0. But it only took Aurora six minutes to level with Ava Westlund scoring in the 13th. Despite some big saves from Aurora keeper Bayliss Flynn, Haase was able to add one more goal before halftime, making 2-1 Granite City at the break.
“The first half, first of all, was definitely not up to the levels that we expect from the group and they understated that,” said Aurora2 head coach Mandy Pochobradsky. “You know, we did underperform but with that being said, it’s been a long week – three games in seven days is a lot to ask of a player so we were able to get some new players in which was good to see.”
Haase tallied a brace for the visitors in the 48th minute, converting from the penalty spot to go up 3-1. But Westlund added a brace of her own in the 62nd minute, with an assist from Mandy Elton – returning the favor from Wednesday’s match. “Both are incredibly creative players, players that we like to get on the ball, want to have them be in dangerous positions and let their creativity shine in the final third specifically,” Pochobradsky said.
Granite City goalkeeper Kaitlyn Krengel did a lot of work to keep Aurora2 from equalizing but Ellie Primerano beat her in the 81st minute. The sides traded shots for the last ten minutes but had to settle for a shared point.
Aurora2 improves to 2-0-1 (W-L-D) with the result and will face NOSC Blast at Spring Lake Park High School on Wednesday, May 29.
