Minnesota Aurora Bests Rochester FC 2-1 in Minnesota Matchup

EAGAN – Minnesota Aurora FC tonight clinched a win over Rochester FC in front of 5,045 fans at TCO Stadium. 

Aurora kicked off the scoring in the fourth minute. Mariah Nguyen dribbled down the left sideline, passing it to a wide open Catherine Rapp who finished right away to put Minnesota ahead, 1-0. 

Despite a handful of chances from Aurora’s offense, Rochester FC broke through in the 38th minute and tied things up. Aida Kardovic finished off an assist from Putri Sazali. 

Aurora and Rochester would head into the locker room, knotted at one. 

A quiet start to the second half saw strong defense from both teams and a foul on Mariah Nguyen in the 51st minute. Katie Duong’s free kick pass to Cat Rapp almost resulted in another goal. Just two minutes later, Sophia Bush had another chance to score.

The misses were interrupted by a Jelena Zbiljic goal in the 67th. Zbiljic tossed a throw-in that hit off Catherine Rapp, where she picked it off and finished to the far side netting off her left foot and solidifying Aurora’s lead. 

“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,” said Zbiljic. 

A save by Taylor Kane in the 85th held Rocheter at bay to help secure the win in the game’s final minutes. The 2-1 win for Aurora brings them to second place in the Heartland Division.

Sporting Director and Head Coach Colette Montgomery commented on the match, saying: “We had a game plan and the balls that we wanted to play into the final third. Rochester brought a great game today and really made us work hard for that 2-1 win.”

Minnesota Aurora’s next home game is this Saturday June 8 at 7 p.m. CT at TCO Stadium. Schedule and ticket information can be found at mnaurora.com. Home matches will be streamed by Fox 9+.