Aurora head to championship game in first year of existence

Maybe, if the Twins add a reliever or two, they'll become the story of the year in Minnesota sports.

Maybe Rudy Gobert will become The One, and make it the Timberwolves, or maybe the Vikings' new braintrust or the Gophers' recruits will elevate them above all other local teams.

Or, maybe, the story of the year in Minnesota sports started with a bunch of people who like beer and soccer, drinking beer and talking soccer and deciding, what the heck, to start a team and see what happened.

What happened was this: Minnesota Aurora, who have been around about as long as the last batch of strawberries you bought at the farmers market, are undefeated and headed to the USL W League championship game, which they will host and likely sell out on Saturday.

Sunday, Aurora defeated McLean Soccer from the D.C. area 1-0 before a sellout crowd of 6,200 at TCO Stadium, in the league semifinals. Morgan Turner scored the goal, Sarah Fuller kept her season total at six goals allowed, and Aurora improved to 12-0-1, winning 12 straight since their season-opening tie.

Defender Abby Ostrem was named the Star Tribune star of the game. She attended high school in Texas and played at South Dakota, and if the Aurora didn't exist, she'd be … who knows?

"I just finished my master's and my COVID fifth year this past fall,'' she said. "So I wouldn't be doing anything, except that I am trying to continue to play soccer. So, just whatever opportunity I would have had other than this — but I'm glad that I took this one.''

Turner grew up in Maple Grove, attended Wayzata High School and starred at DePaul. Sunday, she heard the opposing stands play call-and-response with her names.

"I knew this was going to be something special, but I didn't realize quite what it was going to be,'' she said of playing for Aurora. "I didn't know how many fans there would be, and I didn't know how awesome the team and coaches would be, and I didn't realize how good our chemistry would be and how much success we would have. This has exceeded my expectations all around.''

After a scoreless first half, Aurora coach Nicole Lukic subbed in Turner, who scored seven minutes later. As time wound down, Lukic had her defense pull back and relied on Fuller, who made a leaping save just before the final whistle.

The victory means one more game this year at a beautiful venue that has attracted overflow crowds of fans who seem to know everything about the players.

"It's definitely unmatched,'' Lukic said of the home-field advantage. "It's a huge advantage for us to be here at home. You know, we're scouting opponents. We look at their games and there's maybe 500 people, at most, at their games ... so it's quite a changeup for opponents to come into this space.

"I think it's also a really good experience for them to come in here and also feel how great women's soccer can be and how supported it can be, so I'm really grateful for the community to be behind us, and I can't wait to pack the stadium again next week.''

Aurora has recorded their first two sellouts in their first two home playoff games. As time wound down, Andrea Yoch, the team's president and co-founder, held her head and gasped as McLean buzzed the Aurora net.

Her son, Ryan, texted her from Ghana, where he was watching the game online. At the final whistle, Yoch raised her arms and began hugging her co-workers, but not for long. She was busy. She and her co-owners handle everything from parking logistics to news releases.

"An undefeated Minnesota team in the championship game,'' she said, shaking her head. "I didn't want to say it out loud. Now I can.''

She needed to raise her voice to be heard. The stadium got quite loud.