The Minnesota Aurora clinched the Heartland Division title and a home playoff spot on Saturday, despite being idle, in the team's inaugural season in the USL W League.
Minnesota Aurora FC clinch division title and playoff berth in first season
The Aurora (9-0-1) won the Heartland Division after second-place Green Bay tied with Chicago City on Saturday night.
July 3, 2022 at 4:16AM
Green Bay's 3-3 tie with Chicago City meant the second-place Glory, who have upcoming home games Thursday and Saturday with the Aurora (9-0-1), still was mathematically eliminated from winning the division.
The Aurora's first-round playoff game will be July 13th at TCO Stadium in Eagan. Season-ticket holders will be able to buy tickets Tuesday, the general public Friday starting at 10 a.m. on those days.
"This season has been incredible," coach Nicole Lukic said. "Because of all the amazing support from the community, we have been able to provide great conditions for our players and bring in truly gifted athletes. We are so happy to be rewarding all of our fans with at least one playoff home game."
Two track stars honored
Shaina Zinter of Concordia Academy was named the Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year recently.
The 5-10 senior won the heptathlon at the Nike Outdoor Nationals this past season. She also was second in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at Nike Nationals in a state-record time of 59.19 seconds, which ranked No. 3 in the country.
In the Class 1A state meet, Zinter, who has signed with Wisconsin, won the 100 and 300 hurdles and the 200, setting meet records in both hurdles events.
Sprinter Ramy Ayoub of Farmington High School was named the Gatorade Minnesota Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Ayoub, who has signed with the Gophers, broke a meet record in winning the 400 in 47.34 seconds in the Class 3A state meet.
Vixen coach honored
Ryan McCauley of the Minnesota Vixen was named the Women's Football Alliance Coach of the Year. He is a health and physical education teacher for the Edina Public Schools.
His team will play the Boston Renegades (8-0), the three-time defending champions, in the WFA Pro Division championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 10, in Canton, Ohio (ESPN2).
The Vixen (6-2), who lost to the Renegades 42-26 in the title game a year ago, defeated the Cali War 36-30 on June 25 for the American Conference championship.
MNUFC2 wins at home
MNUFC2 defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps FC2 2-0 at the National Sports Center in Blaine in the MLS Next Pro league on goals by midfielders Emanuel Iwe and Aziel Jackson.
Shaina Zinter of Concordia Academy was named the Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year recently.
The 5-10 senior won the heptathlon at the Nike Outdoor Nationals this past season. She also was second in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at Nike Nationals in a state-record time of 59.19 seconds, which ranked No. 3 in the country.
In the Class 2A state meet, Zinter, who has signed with Wisconsin, won the 100 and 300 hurdles and the 200, setting meet records in both hurdles events.
Sprinter Ramy Ayoub of Farmington High School was named the Gatorade Minnesota Boys Track and Field Player of the Year. Ayoub, who has signed with the Gophers, broke a meet record in winning the 400 in 47.34 seconds in the Class 3A state meet.
Vixen coach honored
Ryan McCauley of the Minnesota Vixen was named the Women's Football Alliance Coach of the Year.
His team will play the Boston Renegades (8-0), the three-time defending champions, in the WFA Pro Division championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 10, in Canton, Ohio (ESPN2).
The Vixen (6-2), who lost to the Renegades 42-26 in the title game a year ago, defeated the Cali War 36-30 on June 25 for the American Conference championship.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
