Jelena Zbiljic scored the tiebreaking goal in the 67th minute as Minnesota Aurora beat Rochester FC 2-1 on Thursday night before an announced 5,045 fans at TCO Stadium.
Catherine Rapp scored in the fourth minute to give the Aurora a 1-0 lead. Mariah Nguyen dribbled down the left sideline, passing it to a wide-open Rapp, who finished right away.
Rochester tied the score in the 38th minute as Aida Kardovic scored off an assist from Putri Sazali.
After a couple of missed second-half opportunities to score, the Aurora broke through thanks to Zbiljic. She tossed a throw-in that hit off Rapp. Zbiljic picked the ball back up finished to the far side of the net off her left foot.
"I saw the keeper a little off her line and my thought process was to just test the goalie, put it on frame, and luckily it got to the back of the net," Zbiljic said.
A save by Taylor Kane in the 85th minute helped secure the victory, one that put the Aurora in second place in the Heartland Division.
"We had a game plan and the balls that we wanted to play into the final third,"Aurora coach Colette Montgomery said. "Rochester brought a great game today and really made us work hard for that 2-1 win."
The Aurora are home again Saturday night against River Light. The teams played to a 1-1 tie in Aurora, Ill., on May 25.
