Jun 21, 2026
Minnesota Aurora FC Clinches Playoff Berth, Heartland Division Title
EAGAN, Minn. – Minnesota Aurora FC closed out its home regular-season slate by clinching a spot in the USL W League Playoffs and earning a fifth straight Heartland Division title with a 4-1 win against River Light FC on Saturday afternoon at TCO Stadium. Ai Kitagawa notched her third multi-goal game of the season, bringing her season total to 11 goals and also added an assist. Flavie Dubé contributed a goal and an assist, while Amelia Brown tallied her first goal of the campaign.
This marks Aurora’s fifth straight trip to the playoffs. Postseason play will begin the weekend of July 3 and July 5 on the road at a predetermined location. A semifinal match would take place on July 10 and the championship match on July 17 with Aurora having a chance to potentially host both a semifinal and the final if they are awarded those matches by the league and advance in the playoffs.
Minnesota grabbed the lead in the 14th minute through Kitagawa. Dubé found Kitagawa running in behind the River Light backline with a perfectly-weighted through ball from midfield. Kitagawa picked up the pass, dribbled into the box and provided a deft touch past the goalkeeper with the inside of her foot to give Aurora a 1-0 lead.
River Light leveled the match in the 27th minute off a corner kick, marking the first time Aurora has conceded a goal this season. After the initial ball was cleared by Minnesota, River Light’s Annie Fitzgerald delivered a pinpoint cross into the middle of the box for Victoria Adams, who headed the ball into the back of the net from five yards out.
Aurora reclaimed the lead at 2-1 in the final minute of first-half stoppage time. Kyra Karfonta played a long ball over the top to Dubé, who surged past a pair of River Light defenders waiting for the ball and finished on the breakaway. The assist was Karfonta’s third of the campaign.
Minnesota extended its lead in the 51st minute on a quick counter-attack as Kitagawa tallied her second goal of the game. Brown received the ball just outside the Aurora box, turned and played it into space for Dubé near midfield. Dubé sprayed the ball out wide to Gracie Dunaway on the right side and she sent a perfect cross to Kitagawa for the tap in at the back post. Dunaway recorded her third assist of the season on the play.
Brown added to the lead to make it 4-1 Aurora in the 81st minute, making her the 13th different player to score a goal this season for the club. Kitagawa popped out wide on the right side and picked out Brown in the center of the box. Brown settled the ball at the edge of the six-yard and placed her shot inside the left post.
Aurora concludes their home slate unbeaten in 2026 and improves to 10-0-0 on the season overall. Minnesota will look to extend that unbeaten streak with its final two regular season games on the road next week.
Next Game
Aurora plays its final two regular season games on the road, visiting Rochester FC on Tuesday, June 23; kickoff is at 6 p.m. before concluding the regular season at RKC Third Coast on Sunday, June 28 at 5 p.m.
Minnesota Aurora FC (10-0-0, 30pts) vs. River Light FC (6-4-0, 18pts)
June 20, 2026 – TCO Stadium (Eagan, Minn.)
Scoring Summary:
AUR: Kitagawa (Dubé), 14
RLFC: Adams (Fitzgerald), 27
AUR: Dubé (Karfonta) 45+2’
AUR: Kitagawa (Dunaway), 51
AUR: Brown (Kitagawa), 81
Misconduct Summary:
AUR: Dubé (caution), 30
Aurora Lineup:
GK Fox, D Zbiljic (Winder, 46), D Mersereau (Iongi, 61), D Albert, D Karfonta, M Dubé, M Morisi (Brown, 46), M Boughton (Rush, 71), M Dunaway (Barrera, 61), F Fieldsend (Tabion, 46), F Kitagawa
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ranson, D Slocum, F Gutierrez
Star of the Game: Flavie Dubé
Attendance: 5,480
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
