Minnesota Aurora FC is an American women's soccer club based in

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the other nearby suburbs form the southern section o ...

that plays in the Heartland Division of the

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a simi ...

. The club began play in the league's inaugural 2022 season as a founding club. The club is community-owned by 3,080 individuals. The club plays its home games at TCO Stadium in

, the same stadium the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

use for practice.

History

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. 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. The team held their first game at TCO Stadium on May 26, 2022 against

Green Bay Glory Green Bay Glory is an American women's pre-professional soccer club based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which plays in the USL W League. The team was formed in January 2019 and played its first WPSL season in 2019. History On January 11, 2019, Kerry ...

. The game resulted in a draw but the Minnesota team 5,219 fans. 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 The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL) or the

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS) is a planned Division II professional women's soccer league in the United States, beginning play in 2023. The league will be owned and operated by the United Soccer League. History USL announced the formation of th ...

in 2024. The club announced their intent to submit an official expansion bid for the NWSL in November.

Branding

The crest of Minnesota Aurora FC features a stylized

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

swooping above a forest with a star hanging to the right. The inspiration for the design came from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

's northern geographic identity and nickname of the North Star State. The crest was designed by local designer Nicole Meyer, along with help from colleagues Allie Reinke and Carla Zetina-Yglesias. The crest was originally one of three designs, all of which were voted on by the community members. Other names for the new team included Arctic Minnesota and Minnesota Foxfire FC, all designed by Meyer, Reinke, and Zetina-Yglesias. The kit worn by MN Aurora FC was designed by Cassidy Sepnieski and was revealed on April 9, 2022. Manufactured by

Hummel International Hummel International Sport & Leisure A/S, commonly known as Hummel (stylized hummel), is a Danish manufacturing company of sportswear brand based in Aarhus owned by Thornico. The company currently manufactures apparel for football, rugby league, ...

, the home kit features a dark background with a borealis swirling in the center. 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

Players and staff

Roster

Management

Coaching staff * Nicole Lukic – head coach *

Jennie Clark ''Jennie Clark'', also seen spelled ''Jenny Clark'', was the first sternwheel-driven steamboat to operate on the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia. This vessel was commonly known as the ''Jennie'' when it was in service ...

– assistant coach * Jen Larrik – assistant coach

Record

Year-by-year

Head coaches

* Includes Regular Season and Playoffs. Excludes friendlies.

Honors

** Regular Season Champions:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

** Heartland Division Winner:

Player honors

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Association football, United States Soccer clubs in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Association football clubs established in 2021 2021 establishments in Minnesota USL W League teams