Minnesota Aurora FC

Minnesota Aurora FC

Founded	2021; 3 years ago (2021)
Stadium	TCO Stadium Eagan, Minnesota
Capacity	6,000
Head coach	Colette Montgomery
League	USL W League
2023	1st, Heartland Division Playoffs: Conference Final
Website	Club website
Home colors Away colors

Minnesota Aurora FC is an American women's soccer club based in Eagan, Minnesota that plays in the Heartland Division of the USL W League. The club began play in the league's inaugural 2022 season as a founding club. The club is community-owned by 3,080 individuals.^[1] The club plays its home games at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota, the same stadium the Minnesota Vikings use for practice.

History[edit]

Minnesota Aurora FC officially sold out their ownership sales on December 15, 2021. The team introduced their coaching staff a few days later, naming Nicole Lukic as the head coach and ensuring the team would be women-led.^[2] The team held tryouts during the spring of 2022 and in May the team announced a partnership with local broadcaster WCCO to stream all home games for free.^[3] The team held their first game at TCO Stadium on May 26, 2022 against Green Bay Glory. The match resulted in a draw but the Minnesota team drew 5,219 fans.^[4] Their first win would be against Kaw Valley on June 2.

On October 24, 2022, the club sent a letter to its community owners stating an intent to become a fully professional team. The Aurora would continue to play in the USL W League through the 2023 season, possibly moving to National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) or the USL Super League in 2024.^[5] The club announced their intent to submit an official expansion bid for the NWSL in November.^[6]

Branding[edit]

The crest of Minnesota Aurora FC features a stylized Aurora swooping above a forest with a star hanging to the right. The inspiration for the design came from Minnesota's northern geographic identity and nickname of the North Star State.^[7] The crest was designed by local designer Nicole Meyer, along with help from colleagues Allie Reinke and Carla Zetina-Yglesias.^[8] The crest was originally one of three designs, all of which were voted on by the community members.^[9] Other names considered for the new team included Arctic Minnesota and Minnesota Foxfire FC, all designed by Meyer, Reinke, and Zetina-Yglesias.^[10]

The kit worn by MN Aurora FC was designed by Cassidy Sepnieski and was revealed on April 9, 2022.^[11] Manufactured by Hummel International, the home kit features a dark background with a borealis swirling in the center.^[12] The away kit is bright teal, with interlinking stars forming constellations. The goalkeeper kit is "flash red" and also sports the same constellation pattern as the away kit.

Club culture[edit]

The club has one supporters' group, named Revontulet (Finnish for Northern Lights), which sits in a designated section at the stadium.^[13]

Players and staff[edit]

Current Roster[edit]

No.	Pos.	Player	Home
00	GK	Sophie Augustin	Germany
0	GK	Mio Nakajima	Japan
1	GK	Taylor Kane	United States
2	DF	Alicia Donley	United States
3	MF	Sophie French	United States
4	MF	Morgan Stone	United States
5	MF	Sofia Bush	United States
6	MF	Rami Rapp	United States
7	DF	Elizabeth Rapp	United States
8	FW	Kaylie Chambers	United States
9	MF	Lydia Ruppert	United States
10	MF	Yao Giada Zhou	Italy
11	FW	Tess Werts	United States
12	DF	Taylor Shell	United States
13	FW	Maya Hansen	United States
14	MF	Servane Blouin	France
15	MF	Addison Weichers	United States
16	MF	Addy Symonds	United States
17	MF	Kacie Laurie	United States
18	MF	Jill Bennett	United States
19	MF	Mariah Nguyen	United States
20	FW	Catherine Rapp	United States
21	MF	Jelena Zbiljic	United States
22	FW	Stella Lawson	New Zealand
23	DF	Assa Kante	United States
24	FW	Saige Wimes	United States
27	DF	Julie Sattler	United States
30	MF	Katie Duong	United States
33	DF	Nicole Norfolk	United States
51	DF	Kelis Barton	United States

Management[edit]

Coaching staff[14] Colette Montgomery – head coach Thomas Kleczewski – assistant coach Lucca Shimanuki – goalkeeper coach Nicki Le – volunteer assistant coach Record[edit] Year-by-year[edit] As of July 8, 2023 Season USL W League Playoffs Top Scorer Head Coach P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals 2022 12 11 0 1 35 8 34 1st, Heartland League Final Morgan Turner 6 Nicole Lukic 2023 12 12 0 0 60 4 36 1st, Heartland Conference Final Maya Hansen 12 Head coaches[edit] Includes Regular Season and Playoffs. Excludes friendlies. Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win % Nicole Lukic  United States October 16, 2021 present 29 26 2 1 089.66 Honors[edit] USL W League Regular Season Champions: 2022, 2023 Heartland Division Winner: 2022, 2023 Player honors[edit] Year Player Country Position Honor 2022 Kenzie Langdok United States Defender All-League First Team Kelsey Kaufusi United States Defender All-League Second Team Sarah Fuller United States Goalkeeper All-League Second Team Addy Symonds United States Midfielder Goal of the Year References[edit] ^ Kassouf, Jeff (May 24, 2022). "With 3,000 owners and $1 million, Minnesota Aurora aims to rewrite the ownership playbook". Equalizer Soccer. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "Coaching Staff Announced". Minnesota Aurora. December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "Minnesota Aurora FC partners with WCCO TV to stream all home games". Minnesota Aurora. May 18, 2022. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "Minnesota Aurora draws first ever game in front 5,219". Minnesota Aurora. June 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ Zgoda, Jerry. "Minnesota Aurora talking to investors about jumping to a professional league". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022. ^ Greder, Andy (November 3, 2022). "Minnesota Aurora to submit bid to join National Women's Soccer League". Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022. ^ "Minnesota Women's Soccer Is Officially Named Aurora FC". www.cbsnews.com. January 27, 2022. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "Creating Aurora: Meet the woman who helped design Minnesota's new USL W team brand". kare11.com. February 2, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "Minnesota Aurora FC announced as team name for Minnesota women's soccer team". www.audacy.com. January 27, 2022. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ Bertels, Kevin (January 27, 2022). "Now more than a glimmer, women's soccer team will be Minnesota Aurora FC". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 22, 2024. ^ "The Northern Lights & Constellation Kits". Minnesota Aurora. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ "USL W League's Minnesota Aurora FC Shoots for the Stars with Inaugural Kits". SportsLogos.Net News. April 12, 2022. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. ^ Volk, John (May 27, 2022). "Minnesota Aurora holds lead until final minute of debut, draws 1-1 with Green Bay". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 22, 2024. ^ "Technical Staff". Minnesota Aurora. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022. External links[edit] Official website