Gallery: Aurora 2 vs Tonka Fusion Elite 2
Minnesota Aurora FC
Here are our photos from the Aurora 2 vs Tonka Fusion Elite 2 game on June 27th at Concordia in St. Paul.
UPSL Women's Gallery: June 23 2024
UPSL Women's Gallery
This week we have photos from Northern Tide’s 3-2 win over Minnesota TwinStars and Minnesota Aurora 2’s 7-0 demolition of St Croix Legacy II.
Photo Gallery: Aurora vs Bavarian United
Minnesota Aurora FC
Minnesota Aurora FC defeated Bavarian United 5-0 on Thursday night at TCO Stadium. Here our our photos from the match.
USL-W Spotlight: MN Aurora vs Chicago Dutch Lions
In May, Minnesota Aurora opened their season with a 8-0 win over the Chicago Dutch Lions on the road (at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois). On Sunday, June 16, Aurora welcomed the Dutch Lions to Eagan’s TCO Stadium, the Heartland Division leaders hosting the bottom of the table. With only a 1 point lead over CDL’s stadium mate, River Light, going into the weekend, Aurora needed a win to stay atop the Heartland Division table. While River Light put up 12 unanswered goals on 6th place RKC, Aurora tallied 6 over the 7th place Chicago Dutch to maintain the lead.
Two first half goals highlighted 45 minutes of attacking spurts. Mariah Nguyen tallied the first in the 16th minute on the rebound after a shot from Sophie French hit the crossbar. French found the net in the 23rd minute to take Aurora up 2-0. CDL goalkeeper Abigail O’Connor made a handful of saves to hold Aurora to two in the first half while Aurora’s back-line picked apart every Chicago offensive sequence early. The visitors’ best chance came from a free kick in the 36th minute. Olivia Anderson lined up the shot, set just outside Aurora’s 18 yard box, and was able to clear the defense’s wall but put a little too much spin on the ball to curl it under the crossbar, sending it high instead.
Nicole Norfolk, whose presence and work rate has been praised by teammates and coaches alike in her first season with the club, explained that the back line stayed engaged by reading the pitch for the midfield: “You’re communicating and helping the attack, giving them information on who’s open on the field, how to break down the other team. I think that helps keep the back line engaged and locked in on the game so that we can stay focused, so that when it’s the other team transitioning, then we're ready to go because we’re locked in and paying attention.”
Norfolk also had a front-row seat to a midfield performance that opened the floodgates for Aurora in the second half: “Our midfielders connected really well. I thought they were able to find each other’s feet a lot, and then get balls out wide. You know, I thought there was variation in our attack as well, obviously the set pieces we were successful on as well.”
Katie Duong and Servane Blouin entered at halftime (for French and Jelena Zibiljic respectively) and so began the clinic. Duong sent a screamer into goal in the 55th minute to make it 3-0. She had options but, “I’ve been trying to work on my long distance shot so I decided to hit it,” she said. Duong then notched an assist, sending a ball to Sofia Bush in the 57th minute for a cool finish, 4-0 -- Bush’s first goal contribution of the season.
After skimming the crossbar with a freekick attempt in the 60th minute, Duong got another chance at a dead ball in the 63rd when she served a corner kick to the head of an unmarked Addy Weichers, 5-0. In the 75th minute, Duong did it again, this time finding Morgan Stone, in the same space and unmarked just as Weichers had been. Stone’s header made it 6-0.
“I usually just try to deliver it into a good area and I feel like we have so many aerial assets on this team that make it super easy - someone always gets on the end of it,” Duong said, a composed and casual answer for a player who tallied a goal and three assists in a 45 minute shift.
“I think watching from the sideline, my biggest goal was just to bring some energy into the game,” she continued. “I mean, it’s a hot day out and I felt like we were able to do that. I think Servane [Blouin] did awesome getting her first minutes and she made two or three huge tackles out there.”
Aurora’s roster is deep, even with a handful of players still working back from injury or otherwise unavailable. Duong and Norfolk were both quick to praise teammates when talking about day’s victory and Duong seemed to deliberately use the phrase ‘game changers’ in place of ‘substitutes’ in one instance, a choice later clarified by head coach Colette Montgomery.
“We have the mentality that they’re not necessarily substitutes, they’re game changers,” Montgomery said when asked about squad rotation. “Again we’re asking for professional performances from the team, finding ways to break down teams’ defense from the final third,” she said. “Obviously [I’d] still like to be a little bit more clinical with some of those finishes but overall a great team performance [tonight].”
Six goals on the board was obviously an improvement after two consecutive matches that had Montgomery plotting finishing drills for the next day’s training. When NLF asked about this specifically, Montgomery said, “For the players, at the end I said, ‘I think you have all colluded to try to do this so we can keep working on scoring at training and give them [the fans] what they want.’ [But] at the end of the day it’s still hard to put goals on the board and so again, [it’s] a cast of characters that have all different individual talents and [they’re] bringing those different qualities to the field and that's great to have.”
Aurora will play two more games at home this week (vs Bavarian on Thursday and Chicago City on Saturday) before finishing the regular season with two matches in Wisconsin. Four games don’t feel like much in these condensed schedules but they make up one-third of the regular season. Minnesota Aurora will need their depth to collect all the points they can to stay ahead of River Light.
Photo Gallery: Rochester FC vs Minnesota Aurora FC
Minnesota Aurora FC
Aurora defeated Rochester 3-0 on Thursday night on the road at RCTC Stadium. Here are our photos from the pitch.
Aurora Beat River Light to Rise Up the Table
When River Light FC played Minnesota Aurora FC in Aurora, IL, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. On Saturday, June 8, Minnesota Aurora FC got their turn to host River Light FC in Eagan, MN. Similar to the Illinois leg, River Light scored first and Aurora answered soon after. However, this match took a different turn. Instead of ending 1-1, the second half included three more goals. Who scored these five goals? Whether you were one of the 6,053 at TCO Stadium, watched on Fox 9+ or the Fox 9 website, or missed the match entirely, Northern Lights Football is here to summarize this action-packed match.
Women of Inspiration
This game was the Women of Inspiration match. A pre-game tweet stated, "Celebrating the women who lead with passion, purpose, and power." Local Social Network Strategist Nadine Babu has worked with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Gopher sports. She posted media of the video board that welcomed other Minnesota women's teams to the stadium: Minnesota Aurora 2, PWHL Minnesota, Menagerie Rugby Club, Twin Cities Amazons Rugby, Minnesota Roller Derby, and Team Trans Twin Cities Ice Hockey.
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1799613853967556886
"My dear, when people show you who they are, why don't you believe them?" or Starting XIs
Colette Montgomery lined up Aurora up in their typical 4-3-3 that can shift into a 4-2-3-1. For the second straight game, Alicia Donley played centerback next to Nicole Norfolk. Donley moved from forward to fullback at University of Dayton, and started the first four Aurora matches at right fullback. This switch for Donley allowed both Kelis Barton and Kacie Laurie to start at fullback. Another key benefit of Donley at centerback was Addy Weichers moving to the central midfield next to Morgan Stone. This marked only the second match for center midfield duo, but Weichers and Stone have played together in the midfield plenty on Aurora teams past.
Also for the second straight game, Cat Rapp received the start at center forward, who came in with 3 goals in 2024. Left wing Mariah Nguyen entered with four goals. Right wing Jill Bennett got her first start of 2024. At middle of it all was Katie Duong at center attacking midfielder.
River Light FC kept only Maya Nugent and Eliana Egeland in the starting lineup from last time. However, River Light used that midweek match against 6th-place RKC to rest most of their starting lineup. The River Light starting line up at TCO Stadium had nine returning starters from their weekend match against Bavarian United SC. Left fullback Sam Bodensteiner and center midfielder Gemma Gillespie were the only new starters Saturday night from a week ago.
"Do the best you can until you know better" or River Light Score First
Despite some dangerous Aurora chances close to the net, River Light's defense held Aurora at bay early. Then in the eleventh minute, River Light's Ella Burke sent a corner kick to the far post. Left wing Anya Gulbrandsen jumped high to head the ball into the back of the net. River Light led 1-0 in Minnesota early.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1799596796517199925
"Then when you know better, do better" or Aurora's Answer
In the 32nd minute, Duong would send in a ball to Cat Rapp. While GK Blythe Braun saved the Cat Rapp attempt, the ball went wide to Morgan Stone who rocks the pebble into the back of the bag to tie the match 1-1. After all the Aurora acts of affection, Stone celebrates by miming setting down a golf ball and tee then driving one out of the box.
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1799602913087803628
"You don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking" or Taylor Kane's Save
After the Aurora scored, River Light's Devin Lynch would take on several Aurora players and send in a dangerous ball. Taylor Kane was there contending for space with a player from each team.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1799604459812634862
For much of the half, both teams struggled to pass through the compact midfield defensive blocks of the other. This half would end 1-1.
"River Light are a really well-organized team. They really want to play through those central spaces. And so that was a lot of what we wanted to do was shut down that middle space, make them go round us the long way and then win those balls in those outside spaces. So, you know, again, the game plan worked out really well. Different personnel coming in at halftime gave us a little of injection of energy, a little bit boost of confidence, and then let's go score some goals." — Colette Montgomery
"Make every effort to change things you do not like" or Substitutions
At the start of the second half, River Light subbed on midfielder Alexandra Tetteh for Gillespie and goalkeeper Bella Schopp for Braun. Aurora made three changes: midfielder Sofia Bush for Stone, right wing Saige Wimes for Bennett, and Yao Zhou for fullback Barton. Midfielder Zhou pushed Weichers back to centerback and Donley slid over to right fullback.
"I've never seen this one before," a goal like Duong's
Early in the second half, Cat Rapp square the ball to Katie Duong who booted the ball for a banger from 27 yards out.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1800352491445596426
Duong commented on balancing her role to making teammates dangerous while being dangerous herself: "Especially playing the 10 a little bit more of an attacking role for Aurora, I've been trying to focus on being dangerous and varying the ways I'm attacking around goal. I think this front line and this midfield is so much fun to play with, and I have so much fun combining with these players."
"I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of"
Later, Aurora would gain inroads into the box again. Despite Aurora's attack with deliberate daggers, River Light defend deftly by discharging all aggressions of Aurora's assailants.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1799614634892419537
Saige Wimes' header or "You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I'll rise."
At the 69th minute, both teams made additional substitutions. Aurora's Julia Sattler came on for fellow centerback Nicole Norfolk. River Light subbed in Sophia Skoubis for Egeland and Ellen Persson for Burke. Around the 76th minute, Aurora would earn a corner kick. Katie Duong's service to the far side looked to be going out for a River Light goal kick. Alicia Donley kept the ball in play and sent it back across the goal mouth. Saige Wimes lept up and headed the ball. The ball pinballed into the net off the goalkeeper's shoulder and the back of a defender. Aurora led 3-1.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1799618420281127033
Immediate after the goal, Aurora would sub in Tess Werts for Nguyen and Rami Rapp for her triplet sister Cat. River Light put in Victoria Adams for fellow defender Sam Bodensteiner.
"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."
Rami would soon threaten on the right side. A River Light defender would trip Rami in the corner of the 18-yard box. It was unclear if the defender poked the ball away or not. As Equal Time Soccer pointed out: it should have been a penalty or a corner kick for Aurora. Instead the referees awarded River Light with a goal kick.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1799618650376487157
"You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
In the 85th minute, River Light would make their last two substitutions (of seven allowed): Evyn Schokora for goal scorer Gulbrandsen and Shayna Da SIlva for Nugent. Those substitutions had an immediate affect. Less than three minutes later, River Light connected seven passes up the field. GK sub Bella Schopp sent a long goal kick up the middle. Alex Tetteh came back towards the ball and offloaded to Olivia Duray, who one-touched the ball wide right to centerback Rachel Kutella. Kutella passed up the line to Sophia Skoubis. Skoubis hit Kutella back on quick diagonal run. Kutella passed to a W I D E O P E N Evyn Schokora, scored.
Katie Duong would earn "Play of the Game" for her second half banger. However, at 1:42:15 of this Fox 9+ video, River Light can claim to the best team goal of the night. Two other River Light attackers were also near the net with Donely the only Aurora player back to help Taylor Kane.
When the final whistle blew, River Light scored first and last. However, this isn't pickup soccer. Last goal doesn't win. Aurora scored three goals and earn three points.
USL W League, Heartland Division Standings - "Does it come as a surprise?"
Aurora was in second place in the Heartland Division heading into this match; River Light was close behind in third. After Bavarian United SC beat Chicago City SC on Saturday, River Light would bounce back to Rochester FC on Monday.
Tuesday results featured two rivalry matches. Chicago City would lose again, this time at home to crosstown rival Chicago Dutch Lions FC. Bavarian beat their Milwaukee rival RKC Third Coast.
The two Thursday matches include four of the top five teams in the division. Aurora heads south on US Highway 52 to Rochester FC. River Light FC in fourth host Bavarian United in second place.
It's tight up at the top. How will this look after Thursday? Stay tuned to Northern Lights Football and find out.
Photo Gallery: Aurora vs River Light
Minnesota Aurora FC
Aurora took top spot in the Heartland Division with a 3-2 win over River Light FC at TCO Stadium on Saturday night. Here are our photos from the pitch.
USL-W Spotlight: MN Aurora, Home and Away
(Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)
Minnesota Aurora's home opener on Thursday, May 30, proved that Teal is still the real deal. A flurry of goals from both veterans and newcomers showed that the inaugural squad's results were not a fluke and that the franchise can continue to draw and develop top talent. Aurora shut out RKC Third Coast with a 7-0 win in front of 5,092 fans.
Midfielder Mariah Nguyen became one of the faces of the franchise in 2022 and her game has only gotten better. The Andover-native will begin her senior year at the University of St Thomas in the fall, where this past August, Nguyen was named TicketSmarter's Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week for registering a hat trick in UST's 7-0 win against Niagara. She registered another for Minnesota Aurora on Thursday, on top of assisting in each of the opening two goals, scored by Addison Weichers and Saige Wimes. The hat trick earned her Star Tribune Player of the Game honors.
https://twitter.com/USLWLeague/status/1796546630742929521
"Pregame we just agreed, you know, we had to start really strong," Nguyen said. "We wanted to put on a show. It was an amazing turnout tonight, 5000-something right? So we knew - We just wanted to put away as many as we can as fast as possible. And at halftime, it is the same thing, just cleaning up so minor issues that we had in midfield, finding each other and stuff like that, and yeah exploiting their pockets."
(Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)
Cat Rapp scored a brace and both goals were bangers, the first pinging off the crossbar to bounce down and in, the second a tight angle shot to the far post. Rapp said of the first goal: "I was thinking: turn it and shoot. I've -- I was actually telling Addy [Weichers], we had worked on this after practice, I was just thinking, you know, this is the exact thing that we set up. It's like I'm just gonna turn and shoot it and aim for the corner, and that's what happened."
"Obviously, Cat Rapp is well known in these parts," said head coach Colette Montgomery. "She's a fan favorite. We've kind of been bringing her in a little bit, gave her that start in that 10 position, moved her into the nine. We know that she's a valuable player, going to score goals. And I'm not sure; I'll check with the statistics, but I'm pretty sure that she put herself in line to be in the top scorers of the franchise, so excited for her."
But the new faces are also making an impact and making their own names known.
"Saige [Wimes] has really impressed," Montgomery said. "You know, we've been bringing her back from a little niggle, but she's looking fantastic as you can see. I wasn't lying when I said we've got top caliber players. [She has] lots of movement off the ball. She's really quick footed, really creative in that final third, exactly what we've been asking the team for."
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1796340677623918978
Despite going into the break with a 4-0 lead, Montgomery said she emphasized continuing to play their game, to their ability for the full 90 minutes:
"We've challenged the players to play with excellence no matter what minute it is, how many goals are scored. We want to be as sharp through the 60-to-90th minute as possible. And the players that come off the bench, we call them game changers because we want them to come in and make an impact, challenge that starting group for spots and keep everybody on their toes."
For their part, RKC Third Coast put up a fight. While they conceded 7 goals and were unable to score any of their own, they still took home some positives. As centerback Ellie Rebmann told NLF, "Even though the score was not what we wanted, I do think that there were still many positives. Getting to play in a stadium with a crowd like we did was a great experience for starters, but I also think that we were really able to come together as a team. I think that we definitely had some good moments at times, and I think we defended pretty well as well."
Rebmann was key to the damage control making one particularly massive block that may have had a few reporters whistling in the pressbox.
"Honestly, all that went through my mind was that this player had a perfect shot open to the back post, and I knew I could get my body behind it to block it," Rebmann said. "I saw her take the shot and just tried to make sure i got my foot on it with enough power to get it out of the box."
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1796355814925705297
Adding three goals to their tally in the second half, Aurora stamped a big W on their home opener. But then they hit the road - Chicago again.
[Miss the match? Click to view our full photo gallery.]
"[We're] excited to be on the road for one game and then come back for a home game stretch. So excited to be back with the fans, be back in this environment." - Aurora Head Coach Colette Montgomery
Sunday saw Minnesota Aurora return to Chicago proper (ie. not Aurora, Ill.) to face Chicago City SC on the campus of Loyola. Chicago City holds first place in the division, having won all three games played prior to Sunday. Aurora sat in second after sharing a point with River Light on the previous road trip.
Sunday's match was pretty similar to the River Light game - a scrappy midfield battle interrupted at times by blocked crosses and shots into the box. City took the lead early after Aurora keeper Taylor Kane tackled an attacking player inside her box, giving Chicago City a penalty kick for DOGSO (Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity) in the 9th minute. The hosts converted to go up 1-0.
Aurora finally found the breakthrough in the 27th minute when Yao Zhou sent a freekick in to Kaylie Chambers to level at 1-1.
https://twitter.com/EqualTimeSoccer/status/1797363397958283553
Both sides had a number of chances in the second half but none found the goal; instead they gutted out another 63 minutes for a draw. And now, Aurora is done with their road trips to the Chicago area.
Minnesota Aurora will return to TCO Stadium on Thursday, June 6, to host Rochester FC. Then on Saturday, June 8, they will host River Light. TCO Stadium will be ready and waiting.
(Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)
Photo Gallery: Minnesota Aurora FC vs RKC Third Coast
Minnesota Aurora FC
Minnesota Aurora held their home opener against RKC Third Coast in front of 5,092 fans. The home side came out victorious as they scored seven and kept a clean sheet. Mariah Nguyen had an outstanding night and provided a hat-trick while also setting up two other goals. Have a look back at all the action with our photo gallery.
USL-W Match Preview: MN Aurora FC host RKC Third Coast
One week into the Heartland Division's 2024 season, MN Aurora returns to TCO Stadium on Thursday night after adding two away results to a regular season unbeaten record that dates back to their inaugural match in 2022. With plenty of new faces - including the entire coaching staff - joining stalwart returnees, Aurora has shown a continuation of the "Aurora way" on the road, but the first week of Heartland results highlights the increasing parity across the division and the W-League standard as a whole.
Aurora [at] Aurora [University in] Aurora [Illinois]
Aurora opened the season in Aurora, Ill., playing two matches at Aurora University. The opener was what everyone has come to expect from Aurora: Goals, early and often. The second match proved that there is room for growth and competition in the regular season.
On Thursday, May 23, Aurora outplayed the Chicago Dutch Lions 8-0. Given that the Dutch Lions lost to River Light FC by the same score on May 19, Aurora's eight goals may have taught us more about the Lions than Aurora. However, the variety of play-makers, goals, and goalscorers, kept the match intriguing.
The goals:
- 6' Sophie French, assisted by fellow returnee Jill Zbiljic from the corner
- 25' Giada Zhou makes her mark in her debut
- 50' French bags a brace
- 53' Tess Werts, who entered for Zbiljic after the break, scores just 8 minutes into her debut
- 57' Mariah Nguyen, back for year three, assisted by Werts
- 59' Werts notches the brace from distance (Yes, that's two goals and one assist less than 15 minutes into her shift)
- 75' Lydia Ruppert, another third-year returnee, assisted by newcomer Taylor Shell
- 77' Ruppert tallies Aurora's third brace and final goal on the night
Two returnees and one debutante accounted for six of the eight goals; the ever-improving Nguyen and confident newcomer Zhou added the other two.
On Saturday Aurora returned to Aurora University, this time to face the aforementioned River Light FC. After going into halftime scoreless, Aurora was the first to concede. River Light took the lead with a goal from Mya Nugent in the 53rd minute. Minutes later, Aurora leveled with a Sophie French header (off of a freekick this time) in the 55th. After that quick succession of goals, the two sides continued to battle it out in midfield without finding the goal. The 1-1 tie was Aurora's first since the club's inaugural home opener in 2022.
“River Light brought a great game against us, and we’re excited to have an opponent like this in the division," said first-year head coach Colette Montgomery. "Our players responded well to the game plan we put out there and the strategy we wanted to put in place today."
Both clubs made the USL-W Power Rankings for the week, with Aurora coming in at 10th and River Light 11th. Judging by the standings, River Light's performance on Saturday may have been a harbinger of a tough[er] season. Aurora has only been outscored by River Light and Chicago City SC but has a game in hand on both clubs. Aurora will get their first look at Chicago City this coming Sunday (at Chicago's Loyola University), but will first face RKC Third Coast.
Welcoming RKC Third Coast
RKC Third Coast opened their season at home on May 19, losing to Chicago City 4-2. After a week's rest, they traveled to Rochester FC, where they lost 3-2. Brielle Rochester scored both goals in the opening match while Haley Christianson tallied both goals against Rochester. RKC has returned 13 players from their inaugural 2023 roster but they do not have as many experienced players as Aurora.
In 2023, RKC's inaugural season, Aurora outscored them 18-1 across two head-to-head matches. Aurora's 2024 roster of 29 players features 12 returning players, a number of whom have already moved up a few rungs on the franchise's all-time goals and all-time points ladders.
Preseason thoughts from the coaches
"We've got exceptional leaders in the group and I'm very thankful for the returning players," Coach Montgomery said following at an open training session in preseason. "They know the Aurora Way and I'm learning that and bringing my pieces of that and seeing how we can collaborate." She reiterated later, "I'm very thankful for the veteran players that are here. This is a collaborative effort."
Goalkeeper coach Lucca Shimanuki is genuinely thrilled about the new experience, telling NLF after that same training session, "It's been amazing, to be honest, just working with Colette [Montgomery]. She's a fantastic coach, I know her from the past, I learned a lot from her, and just to be here in this new environment, which - it's where every soccer coach wants to be, at the highest level possible, and it can't get much better than this."
Returning goalkeeper Taylor Kane played every minute of the two matches on the road. Every indication is that she will get the nod again on Thursday at home. Shimanuki was impressed with the level she brought to training before the season started: "[Aurora] has always had solid goalkeepers and our defense was always something that we're proud of and we want to maintain that for this year. We have Taylor, a returner, and she's just been getting better and better every day. Every season, she's been fantastic."
Thursday evening will be many fans' first opportunity to see in-person the collaboration between the first-year staff, new players, and veteran players. It is also the first match of the season to be broadcast on TV, returning to Fox 9+ (TV) and Fox9.com. Northern Lights Football will also be there for live coverage and to recap all aspects of the event so follow along.
Recap & Photos: Aurora 2 Draws 3-3 with Granite City
Minnesota Aurora FC
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.
Recap & Photos: Aurora 2 vs Northern Tide
Minnesota Aurora FC
Aurora2 played their home opener on Wednesday night, hosting Northern Tide FC at Sea Foam Stadium in St Paul, Minn. It was a convincing 3-0 win for Aurora, who improved to 2-0 on the season.
The home side got off to a quick start when Ava Grate scored in the 8th minute from Angie Knies’ corner service – Aurora’s second corner kick of the match. Aurora continued to put in crosses and corners, challenging Northern Tide goalkeeper Samantha Swidorski who held her own until a bobble in the 39th minute allowed Ellie Primerano a chance to tap in a rebound. One minute of stoppage time saw Aurora make the score 3-0 before the break.
Ava Westlund tallied the assist on that third and final goal and described the build up “Ellie [Primerano] had it up the middle. I made the run out wide, she timed it perfectly, played me; I sliced it across and then Mandy [Elton] finished it, two-time. It was a perfect combination.”
Northern Tide was able to put together a few runs to challenge Aurora’s midfield in the second half but, as in the first half, Aurora closed them down early and often. Westlund credited home pitch advantage for the shutout: “With our first game, we were getting into the group but being back to home field is totally different because we train here, we’re used to the field, the surface, everything […] The environment, the field, the team, we all came together really well.”
Aurora2 will play at home again on Saturday, hosting Granite City FC in front of a larger, mid-afternoon crowd.
UPSL Women's Spotlight: MN TwinStars v MN Aurora 2
Minnesota Aurora FC
Spotlight Match – Minnesota TwinStars FC 1-2 Minnesota Aurora FC
Minnesota Aurora’s new reserve squad opened play on the road at Minnesota TwinStars, who have had a women’s side intermittently throughout their history but who are also new to the Women’s division of UPSL.
After a fairly even opening few minutes, with no clear chances for either side, it was Karlee Torisk who broke the deadlock with an audacious chip of the TwinStars goalkeeper from 25 yards out.
The home side hit the side netting from a corner in the 37th minute but it was the closest they would come in the first half. Five minutes later, Molly Knoblauch swept a free kick in from 20 yards out on the right wing and Mandy Elton blasted home from the middle of the box.
TwinStars scored their first goal of the season, in the 75th minute as Mikala Bocan beat a defender to a long free kick from midfield to flick past the Aurora keeper from the penalty spot with her head.
Other Results This Weekend
NOSC Blast 7-0 Skills FC
Berit J Parten notched four goals as Blast ran riot. Jessica M Eischens and Hannah L Kvant also scored from open play and Evie Birk from the penalty spot.
Vlora FC 0-3 Tonka Fusion Elite 2
Abby Missman scored twice and Ella Wade once for the visitors.
Northern Tide FC 3-2 St Croix Legacy II
Ana Munyon and Julie Bergan scored for NTFC. Ariana Green and Preslee I Nepote scored for Legacy.
Granite City FC 3-3 Superior City FC
Two goals by Anna Tobias and one from Gwendolyn Lilly for Superior City were met by two goals from Chloe Voss and one from Sophia Haase.
Photo Gallery: Aurora 2023 Wrap-Up Practice
Minnesota Aurora FC
Minnesota Aurora FC turned the lights off on the 2023 season this week with a few light practices and a partial roster on hand. Despite the early exit from the USL-W playoffs, spirits were high at TCO, with the players and coaching staff enjoying some last few moments together for the year. Here are our photos from the practice session on Tuesday morning.
USL-W | MN Aurora Enters Playoffs with A Fresh Slate, Despite Opening with A Rematch
The W League's second season has come to a close but playoffs are coming, fast and furious. Kettering University and its Atwood Stadium, in Flint, Michigan, will host the Central Conference semifinals on Thursday, July 6. The Heartland Division's wild cards will play first (at 2pm CST), in a meeting of familiar foes: Minnesota Aurora FC and Chicago City FC. Then (at 6 pm CST) Flint City AFC of the Great Lakes Division will face Indy Eleven of the Valley Division. The winners will face off in a quarterfinal match on Saturday, again at Atwood Stadium.
MN Aurora head coach Nicole Lukic and some players spoke with the media following the team's last practice before taking off* for Flint. Tuesday's open training followed a rare two-day break, a necessity ahead of what will hopefully be a continuing compact playoff schedule. "We've been mentally kind of grinded for fifty days or so with just, you know, a day off here and there," Lukic told NLF. "So I think the two days did everybody pretty well for their bodies and just mental energy. We had a good session today and we're excited to get over to Flint."
Minnesota Aurora bolstered their roster ahead of the trip, adding training player Ava Bjorkman Tracy to the squad. The UNC-Ashville player will be a depth option as Hannah Adler is on beach soccer national team duty this weekend and Kennedy Faulknor remains out with injury.
Thursday's opponent is the same squad Aurora faced in their home finale this past Saturday. Lineup tweaks throughout the match against Chicago City SC resulted in a 7-0 win, with six of those goals scored in the second half, but Lukic said not to look at that match as a preview of Thursday's game plan: "We were guessing that it would be back to back Chicago City games so we kept that in mind when we created our lineup on July 1, because we didn't want to do the exact same thing twice. So I would expect it [Thursday's lineup] to be a little different than it was on Saturday."
Midfielder Vienna Behnke, a Wisconsin native with pro experience in Iceland, says playoffs will be a fresh start. "It's just kind of a mindset shift of a whole new season starting, so the regular season means nothing. Now, even though we did really well and we do have a lot of good results [12-0, 60 goals], the slate is clean and we have to start over and prove ourselves right away."
After that near-fifty day grind, two days off felt strange to Behnke, in large part due to the team chemistry built through an intensive, compact season. For a pro (who will be available in the upcoming transfer window, by the way) to speak so highly of the experience with a squad - and league - largely composed of college players getting ready for the fall season and considering pro careers, speaks volumes of Aurora's program.
"I'm looking to play overseas again in this transfer window - hopefully I'll sign contracts now. So it's been a good preparation for me, as well. Just not going back to college, but to go back to another team," said Behnke. "[It's] just a really high level all around, even as we split up into our functional groups and stuff. Even that's a really high level. So it's been - I think everybody's gotten to improve and no matter where you're going afterward, I think it's been really good."
While Aurora has received a lot of attention for both the quality of their goals (with two SportsCenter Top 10 appearances in 2023) and the quantity (Behnke frequently wakes up to texts from teammates overseas asking if the other team got a touch on the ball), their coach remains balanced, still on those "neutral thoughts" from preseason:
"We've played them really well on Saturday, obviously, but we can't take any opponent for granted at this point. Everybody's earned their playoff spot. They worked, Chicago worked super hard to get here so I'm sure we're going to get their best from them."
Minnesota Aurora FC vs. Chicago City SC kicks off at 2 pm CST on Thursday, July 6. Aurora's broadcasting partner Fox9+ will carry the game.
* Notably, we mean "taking off" literally in this case. This is the first time the club has travelled by air for a match. Unfortunately, NLF was told that bus driver/cheerleader Stephen Barry of Jefferson Lines is not able to make the trip.