Aurora host first home playoff match since 2022, with return to championship game in sight

When Aurora FC opened the preseason with a scrimmage against the University of Minnesota men’s club team, it was clear this group was still learning to play as one.

“I think it was like, four or five to one or something,” Aurora coach Jen Larrick said. “Yeah, we lost, but that’s good. It was what we needed.”

Roughly two months later, Aurora have become a cohesive team: a deep, disciplined squad that’s allowed just four goals in 16 games. Following a gritty 1–0 win over Kings Hammer FC on Sunday, Aurora will host their first home playoff game since 2022. That national semifinal tilt against Utah United is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday at TCO Stadium in Eagan. The winner will play for the USL W championship.

“When we found out it was gonna be at home, we were so elated,” midfielder Rami Rapp said. “We haven’t had a playoff game at home in a while. Super pumped about that. I think there’s nothing like playing in front of 5,000 of your own fans.”

Aurora’s goal on Sunday came in the 88th minute, thanks to a moment of brilliance off the bench.

Midfielder Mariah Nguyen — one of many high-impact subs Larrick calls “game changers” — drove at the Kings Hammer back line and threaded a perfect ball to forward Saige Wimes, who buried her fifth goal of the year.

For Larrick, the goal showed the cohesion her squad has built in a limited time.

“We’ve been playing together for just over two months, like, that’s crazy,” Larrick said. “Over time, I think [Wimes] has found a way to match her special qualities with the game model. ... She’s found a way to just bring out her strengths.”

That chemistry has been a theme echoed by the players.

Rapp says this year’s squad is as close as any she’s been part of — a key reason she and her sisters, Catherine and Elizabeth, return each summer from Colorado. The triplets have been with the club since its 2022 debut.

“There’s something so special about a group that has a collective goal at the start of the season,” Rami Rapp said, “and we work all summer to get there and we see it through. ... We’re really excited on Saturday to get to continue the goal.”

The team’s growth has shown on the stat sheet. Aurora have recorded two consecutive clean sheets in the playoffs. The club held Kings Hammer to just three second-half shots, none for the first 30 minutes after halftime.

Larrick credited the consistency to her “lights out” defenders and the coaching staff’s emphasis on “out-of-possession” work through film review and scouting.

“It’s been a main focus since we started,” Larrick said, “especially knowing that the out-of-possession element is huge once you get the playoffs.”

Saturday’s opponent, Utah United, bring a fast, disruptive style led by league-leading scorer Seven Castain (16 goals).

With a USL W-best 61 goals — 14 more than any other team — Utah routinely uses a high press to force opponents out of possession and punish mistakes with shots on goal.

Aurora, meanwhile, should feel comfortable at TCO Stadium, where they’ve never lost a regular-season match. Their lone defeat at home? The 2022 league championship game.

Now, they’re one win away from a shot at redemption. And if all goes well, Saturday will be a far cry from that first preseason scrimmage.

“I remember from the day just being like, this is a good starting point, it is a good group to start with, but we have a lot of work to do,” Rapp said. “And I think now we’re at the point where I’ve seen the work get put in, and I feel like we’re playing our best right now.”