Minnesota Aurora's new path: USL W playoffs at a glance

2 p.m. Thursday: Minnesota Aurora vs. Chicago City SC in Central Conference semifinals at Atwood Stadium in Flint, Mich. • TV: Fox9+

The path: The Aurora, who were league runners-up a season ago, must win four consecutive playoff matches to finish atop the USL W League, which is made up of four conferences: Eastern, Central, Southern and Western.

The league's playoff format expanded from eight to 16 teams with a structure that leaves the Aurora at a slight disadvantage compared to last year, when they only needed to win three postseason matches all at TCO Stadium. The winner of their neutral Thursday match with Chicago City SC will then play the winner of the other Central Conference semifinal between Flint City AFC and the Indy Eleven.

The Central Conference final is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Atwood Stadium, Flint City AFC's home venue. The time, date and location of the league semifinals and final have yet to be announced.

The stats: After another perfect regular season under coach Nicole Lukic, the Aurora are one of two teams that enter the USL W playoffs with a 12-0 record. Tampa Bay United SC, from the Southeast Division, is the other. The Aurora have already beaten their opening-round opponent twice by a combined 10-1 margin that contributed to their league-leading plus-56 goal differential. Morris Elite SC at plus-49 and Tampa Bay United at plus-42 are the next closest teams.

Maya Hansen is the Aurora's all-time points (38) and goals (16) leader. Hannah Adler finished as a close second to Hansen with 28 points and 11 goals as a first-year Aurora player. Amanda Poorbaugh started 11 of the Aurora's 12 games in the net, anchoring a four-women goalkeeper group that collectively allowed only four goals in the regular season.

Notable: South Georgia Tormenta FC, which defeated the Aurora in the 2022 USL W championship, missed the postseason following a third-place finish in the South Central Division with a 6-3-3 record.