MN Aurora FC dances into third postseason appearance
Minnesota Aurora FC danced into their third consecutive postseason berth last week with a pair of road wins that clinched the Heartland Division and added to the franchise's records. Aurora will have to get through a rematch with Indy Eleven on Friday to advance to the Conference final on Sunday but, both players and coaches like their chances, especially if they hold to their one-match mentality.
Rewind: Path to Playoffs
June 27 (Milwaukee, Wis.): Bavarian United FC 0-7 MN Aurora FC
Aurora clinched their playoff spot with a shutout against Bavarian but they had a slow start, not finding the net until the 27th minute. Saige Wimes' goal, which came from a Bavarian turnover, opened the floodgates. A Katie Duong penalty kick and a strike from Mariah Nguyen to finish a box-to-box team goal (Kelis Barton to Wimes to Nguyen) sent Aurora into the break with a 3-0 lead.
Wimes scored a brace in the 52nd minute (4-0). Substitute Sophie French scored in the 56th (5-0) with a strike from distance after another turnover and again in the 72nd on a cornerkick served by Katie Duong (6-0). Giada Zhou added yet another banger in the 86th to end Aurora's night with a 7-0 win.
June 29 (Racine, Wis.): RKC Third Coast 0-14 MN Aurora FC
On Saturday, it took a heavily rotated Aurora only six minutes to find their first goal. Once again, Katie Duong sent a beautiful ball into the box, finding Tess Werts who chipped it over the shoulder of RKC goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil (1-0). Kratochvil made five saves before Giada Zhou doubled Aurora's lead in the 33rd minute following a poor clearance. French and Duong each added a goal before the break. The second half escalated more quickly.
Cat Rapp tallied four goals in 19 minutes (51'Klecezewski. “Two games, as we continue to prepare for the playoffs. We came focused on our attacking objectives and prepared ourselves for some great opponents coming up.”, 53', 62', 70'), book-ending three more goals from Wimes (57'), Lydia Ruppert (57'), and Kaylie Chambers (67') which put Aurora up 11-0 with twenty minutes still on the clock. But it didn't end there. Morgan Stone, a Chambers brace, and Sofia Bush, made it 14-0 on the night. If not for 'keeper Kratochvil the final tally could have been well above 20, but 14 marked a new franchise record goals-per-game for Aurora. Cat Rapp's haul (4 goals - a hat trick plus one) was also a franchise first.
Depth In Action: 21-0 Weekend
While players like Cat Rapp, a three-year Aurora vet, and Katie Duong, a 2024 signing (who has now scored in seven straight matches) continue to put on standout performances match after match, the 21-0 weekend showed the depth and creativity of the squad. The final weekend of the regular season saw veterans and newcomers climb the franchise leader boards:
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1808168760609546696
And, while the score may be excessive, it is also preparation. Assistant Coach Tom Klecezewski said, "We came [to Wisconsin] focused on our attacking objectives and prepared ourselves for some great opponents coming up.”
Central Conference Playoffs
Detroit City FC won their bid to host the Central Conference playoffs at Keyworth Stadium. On Friday, July 5, Aurora (1st seed) will play Indy Eleven (3rd seed) while host Detroit City (2nd) will play wild card River Light (4th). No, this is not a seeding error: USL-W's 2024 playoff structure states that inter division match-ups will be avoided in the first round whenever possible. Thus, the Heartland Division's 2nd place finisher, River Light, will not face 1st place MN Aurora, despite being assigned the 4th and 1st seeds, respectively.
After training on Wednesday, a portion of which was open to the media, coach Colette Montgomery was asked about having to travel for the first playoff game despite Aurora earning the first seed. She gave a well thought out response about the league's goal to expand the various marketplaces within the league and to give clubs with the means to host a chance to do so. Montgomery added that clubs like Aurora have a role to play in other markets, not just their own, and she hopes they can "maybe influence some young boys and girls in Detroit to play soccer and love the game."
A change of scenery brings new excitement - and challenges - to the game for players. Defender Lillie French told NLF, "It's also exciting to play out in a different stadium. I can't wait. I love playing at different places. Obviously I wish we were home but, it's nice to see something new. It's like a challenge." As for their opponent, the squad is not caught up on past results. "I'm excited to get outside of our division and play a team outside just to see what that competition is like and I know that Aurora has faced this team in the past, but you know, every year it's different so I'm excited to see that."
Indy Eleven isn't a completely new opponent for Aurora. The Valley Division side beat Aurora on their way to winning the championship trophy in 2023. While some standout players remain (most notably goalkeeper Nona Reason and forward Katie Soderstrom), Indy's 2024 division title was followed by the departure of head coach Paul Dolinsky.
Still, Aurora's staff has done their homework. "We've scouted them well. We know what they do well. We lock into what we want to do and we take our game to them," Montgomery said. "Hopefully we get that finished."
"Returning players have really brought that kind of unfinished business perspective to this. And I think that really drives the squad as a whole. We know that we're grateful for what's been done. And we're not content to leave it where it is. And so we're going to do our best to put out the best performance this weekend." - Colette Montgomery, Aurora Head Coach/Sporting Director
Unfinished Business & the Aurora Way
Lillie French, who joined Aurora's roster in June following a season with Heidelberg United FC (Melbourne, Aus.), has a unique perspective on the match-up. She watched her twin sister, Sophie, play in the match against Indy last season. She watched the 'unfinished business' mindset in action as she joined the squad for training under Montgomery in 2024. Now, after playing in a handful of games herself, Lillie is confident in the mixed team of veterans and newcomers who bring the intensity day after day:
"I think we have such a strong crew and all the girls on the team are so, so strong and so skillful that I think, going into playoffs, it's just another game for us. I mean there's high stakes, but we're just going into it like it's just another opponent. Like we got this, focusing on us - not really on the [opposing] team, just focusing on what we do and then trying to execute that. So we're really excited."
Aurora worked hard to match in 2024 the successes of their first two seasons. A whole new coaching staff and a nearly even mix of new players and returning/third-year players, had to work together to bring another undefeated season to fruition.
"Coach Lukic and her staff have built that tradition of the high press and being relentless and going after lots of goals and scoring," said Montgomery. "We all know that in sports really, the difference between being at a good level and being at the highest level comes down to mentality. I'm really proud of this group. The way that they really build that tenacity and resilience, the willingness to do the work off the ball and on the ball, play with freedom and creativity and ,as easy as it is to say that, it's very hard to create an environment where players have ownership over that. So disciplined defense can lead to creativity in the attack. It's hard to do that. But I believe that together we've created that environment and are really thriving."
On Friday, Aurora will have to find a way to carry that tenacity forward into the postseason. The club entered their third season with two division titles, one conference title, and a championship runners-up finish to their name. So far in 2024, they have added a third division title. Winning out this weekend to add another conference title would be a balm on the sting of 2023. Winning it all would remove chips from a few shoulders. But first, Friday...
Up Next
Conference semifinal: Minnesota Aurora FC v. Indy Eleven (match info courtesy of MNAFC):
USL-W Spotlight + Gallery: Aurora bests Rochester 2-1
On Thursday, June 6, Minnesota Aurora FC hosted Rochester FC in the first leg of the Minnesota Derby. The Rochester Loons kept the match close after conceding early, with their defense drawing the praise of Aurora coach and players, but the hosts found the breakthrough in spectacular fashion to win 2-1.
Despite scoring the opening goal in the third minute, Cat Rapp found a lot to be improved upon, for herself and for the team:
“I’m glad that we got the win but I think we could have done a lot more today We had a game plan. I think at some points we were able to execute it and others we weren’t able to do as we wanted,” she said. “But I’m glad we got the win. It shows that even when we’re not playing our best, we can still get results.”
“We wanted to start the game right but, you know, the game lasts for 90 minutes,” said head coach Colette Montgomery. “Sometimes scoring in the first couple of minutes is the worst thing you can do. You know, Rochester again shut things down. They’ve got – obviously – some really good individuals and you know, they’ve all had a really good game, some big saves as well.”
Rochester goalkeeper Emma Knack was key to keeping Aurora to just two goals on the night. At the other end, midfielder Aida Kardovic put Rochester on the board, scoring the equalizer in the 38th minute. The Creighton grad now has 5 goals this year for the Loons.
“They were just playing hard, obviously. We expect that from every single team. In particular that number seven [Kardovic], she was very good for them,” Rapp said. “I think she scored their goal off the free kick and she was very good, very technical.”
📹 EQUAL TIME EXCLUSIVE
Second look at the Putri Sazali to Aida Kardovic goal for @RochesterClub, including our goal line camera. https://t.co/9xcEI3nBKg pic.twitter.com/NOvfg1h7HY
— Equal Time Soccer (@EqualTimeSoccer) June 7, 2024
“We definitely have to give credit to their number seven,” echoed Jelena Zbiljic. “She was a baller. She was very good and hard to defend.”
Zbiljic scored the winner for Aurora, finding the far upper corner of the goal with a strike that coach Montgomery called a crot: “We call that a crot. Was it a cross or a shot so we call it a crot. At the end of the day the ball ends up in the back of the net so we’re happy with that.”
The ball found the back of the net and the play found the No. 6 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 that night.
We really want you to see this, @SportsCenter https://t.co/hotSQjIo5f
— Minnesota Aurora FC (@MNAuroraFC) June 7, 2024
“I like being very helpful and crossing, or just taking people on and going one-v-one,” Zbiljic explained. “So it’s kind of what I tried to do and then I kind of saw the keeper a little off her line and I just love to test the keeper and try to get a goal in and that’s exactly what happened.”
Aurora will go on the road this coming Thursday, June 13, to face Knack and Kardovic on their own turf. But first, Aurora (2nd) will host River Light FC (3rd) on Saturday night.
After coming out of the Rochester match feeling that her side was not as clinical as they’d like to be, Montgomery said, “The players know the standards and the expectation. And so we’re going to close the door on this one very quickly and move on to the Lights on the weekend.”
MN Aurora Closes Out 2023 with Shutout Against Chicago City SC
Minnesota Aurora FC closed out the 2023 regular season on Saturday night with a 7-0 shutout against second place Chicago City SC. With the win, Aurora secured a few big accomplishments: One of only two teams in the W League to go a perfect 12-0-0 (Tampa Bay United of the Southeast Division); the only team to score 60 goals on the season; the highest goal differential (56); and set a new W League attendance record.
Eagan's TCO Stadium was packed with 6,987 fans for the highly anticipated matchup between the Heartland Division's top two teams. The last matchup with Chicago City SC took place on a rainy day in Chicago and ended with a 3-1 win for Aurora. All four of those goals were made in the first half. "Chicago City played a good match and forced us to be better," head coach Nicole Lukic said after that match.
Saturday's meeting started off a bit differently. The fans had to wait over a half hour to sing for a goal. After a lot of time spent in the middle third, with both sides focused on dispossessing the other and cutting off breakaways, Minnesota eventually earned a corner kick in the 37th minute. Addy Weichers, as usual, sent in a picture-perfect ball, finding the head of Morgan Stone whose flick-on caught City goalkeeper, Lauren Keiser, off guard. The corner kick setup looked a little different from those in the previous 11 matches, in which half of the squad typically camped out in the box awaiting service, often with centerback Tianna Harris squared up for any kick taken by Weichers. This time a few more players held back, perhaps expecting a need to quell a City counterattack.
"It just took us a little bit to break them down," said Lukic. "Credit to Chicago - I thought they had a really good first half. They're a physical team that gave us a good matchup."
But that opening goal seemed to take an edge off of the squad's nerves. Aurora went into the break with a 1-0 lead. Lukic made some changes and the team came out stronger in the second half: "I think we made a tactical adjustment in the midfield that really helped organize our press a little bit better, which helped us win balls back after we lost them," Lukic explained. "So I'd say that was a key moment and then the other players that came into the second half did a really good job of giving us a spark."
And what a spark that was. Minnesota scored a total of six unanswered goals in a span of 24 minutes. They were all far too good not to highlight (You can watch them all HERE) but due to limited space, here are our highlights of the highlights:
Cat Rapp and Sophie French each bagged a brace
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1675270794295795719
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1675276029600866305
Maya Hansen added her twelfth goal of the season (a new team record) in stunning fashion.
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1675271359071436801
Hannah Adler scored on the second touch of her shift.
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1675272573062459394
"I think we were a little frantic kind of [in the first half]," explained Cat Rapp, Saturday's Star Tribune Star of the Match. "I think in the first half the heat and other stuff was just making us more tired. But we'll make adjustments to play our game better, which is why we're here."
Lukic credited passion and chemistry for such consistent results, as well as their coachability . She was also quick to credit the fans, tying them into many of her comments when asked about certain moments of the match.
"Credit to the players who really just show up day in and day out, put in the work. They love this game more than most I know, and they come to train and just show up every single day so that when we get the opportunity to play in front of out amazing fan base, we're able to put seven goals in the net. And obviously people love seeing goals being scored."
Aurora moves on to the postseason, joined by Chicago City in Flint, Mich., for conference playoffs next week. The players (and staff) will get a couple days of much need rest but then they return to training and, Lukic says, the focus is the same: "As long as we continue doing the little things that we need to be doing right, it shouldn't matter where we play."
With any luck, Kettering University's Atwood Stadium will have the streaming capabilities to host 7,000-plus Aurora fans watching from Minnesota.
MN Aurora FC Shuts Out Rochester FC In 5 Goal Opener
(Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)
Minnesota Aurora FC opened the 2023 season by hosting expansion side Rochester FC, welcoming the Loons to the league with a five goal shutout. Three returning players tallied four massive goals in the first half to welcome fans back to TCO Stadium, starting what is sure to be a tough season on the front foot.
"Breaking news, the conference champs are still really, really good at soccer," Rochester FC tweeted at full time. The Rochester Loons are one of the Heartland Division expansion sides, bringing some in-state competition to Aurora's calendar. A very young RFC squad put up a good fight, particularly in the second half, but ultimately could not answer the goal tally put up by the Aurora.
Minnesota earned a corner within the first minute, a freekick in the second, struck side netting in the fourth. The first goal finally (yes, finally) came in the 6', a clean finish by Cat Rapp on a cross from Makenzie Langdok. While Rochester took advantage of a few counters, their finishing was not clean or powerful enough to trouble starting goalkeeper Amanda Poorbaugh. But an Aurora offense featuring four returning players (Rapp, Mariah Nguyen, Hannah Adler, Sophie French and Maya Hansen) was no easy match. Mariah Nguyen, who found side netting early, found Hannah Adler in the six yard box in the 14'. Adler settled the ball and sent an inside-of-the-boot finish past keeper Carlota Alcade.
Alcade, who had 12 saves in RFC's 1-0 opening loss against Bavarian SC last week, looked less confident against Aurora. Down 2-0 inside of 15 minutes, it would be a long night for her. A minute after the crossbar denied a Nguyen scissor kick, Hansen found Rapp who slipped past the centerback and beat Alcade again to make it 3-0 in the 35'. Then just after the restart, Adler sent a ball to Hansen whose quick finish made it 4-0 in the 36'.
"It was fun, and I think it helped us settle down a little bit," head coach Nicole Lukic said of the four first half goals. Of Rapp's two goals, Lukic said, "Incredible and not surprising because she's been on fire the last two weeks at training so really happen to see some goals going in for her tonight."
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1661535442506858496
Rapp credited preseason preparation for Wednesday's result:
"We have a mindset and a goal and a plan of what we want to do and because my teammates and all we've been working on for the past couple weeks with coaches and everybody, I was able to just do my job and finish the chances I had."
The score held through to halftime with Rochester growing into the game in those ten minutes but still feeling things out. Aurora's Nguyen tangled with Sera Speltz on the wing a few times, each attempting physical runs.
Each side made three changes to start the half with newcomer Vienna Behnke replacing Nguyen and Lydia Ruppert and Jelena Zbiljic replacing Ostrem and French for Aurora. Emma Knack entered the game for Rochester, replacing Alcade in goal, joined by Becca Cook and Ava Adams. The first half hour of the second half was much like the last ten minutes of the first half with Rochester getting a little more purpose from their possession (Mizutani's freekick attempt in the 53' was high but seemed to renew Rochester's attack) but a took a few more subs for the next goal to happen.
In the 83', after a few well-timed if not powerful shots, Aurora's Kristelle Yewah took advantage of a miscue by Knack, getting behind the keeper and flustering both centerbacks before deflecting a long ball from defender Kennedy Faulknor to Jelena Zbiljic, who tapped it home for the fifth and final goal.
"Incredible ball," Lukic reflected. "Well-weighted, left footed, just floated right into Kristelle's feet."
https://twitter.com/MNAuroraFC/status/1661551215765848065
A five goal shutout with two key players out due to knocks suffered in preseason friendlies (Kelsey Kaufusi - hamstring; Taylor Kane - thumb) is a solid start for a team that expects to score but also concede more in their second season. The crowd of 5,187 fans made the work a little difficult for Lukic and her squad:
"To be honest, I think at times we were still pretty choppy and sloppy through the night and the ball was out of bounds a lot [...] I learned that we're a little more nervous than I thought we would be being back in this environment but that'll come with time and your know, our next game's on the road. So it'd be nice to kind of work on some things and build off of tonight and in a little bit more quiet atmosphere where we can hear each other, because I couldn't even get anything across to the other side of the field today.
Lukic found plenty of things to work on despite the 5-0 result, but this is not a bad problem to have in the first match of a compact but long season. The Aurora face a quick turnaround with match two coming Saturday at Chicago Dutch Lions. But as Lukic noted, that will be a good environment for them to work on communication and any other problems visible in the first competitive runout.
However, as promised in preseason, this 2023 Aurora squad plans to continue scoring and putting on the pressure, even if they [eventually] have to concede a few more goals along the way. They may not all be 5-0 shutouts, but this team is ready to continue the Aurora Way.
Aurora will face the Chicago Dutch Lions on the road Saturday before returning to TCO to host another new opponent, RKC (Racine, WI) in a Wednesday night prime time feature.
Photo Gallery: Minnesota Aurora vs. Rochester FC
(Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)