After yet another unbeaten regular season, the Minnesota Aurora entered this week’s USL W League playoffs feeling they had unfinished business. After all, after the previous two seasons, Minnesota was left without a championship.
The Aurora will come away from this season feeling unfulfilled, too.
Minnesota lost 2-1 to Indy Eleven on the road Friday afternoon, ending its season in the opening game of the playoffs.
Three seasons into its existence, Minnesota has lost a round earlier each year.
Aurora’s Katie Duong scored in the 66th minute to tie the game, but Indy Eleven got a goal from Natalie Mitchell in the 83rd minute to put the game away. Taylor Kane was in goal for the Aurora.
After a 11-0-1 record in 2022, Aurora won two playoff games before losing to Tormenta FC in the championship game. After a 12-0-0 record in 2023, Aurora won one playoff game before falling to Indy Eleven in the quarterfinals.
This season, Minnesota was 10-0-2 in the regular season and lost to Indy Eleven (7-1-2 regular season) for the second straight year in the playoffs.
Aurora lost by a goal after having a plus-55 goal differential in its 12 regular-season matches.
“Historical context is not in the present,” first-year coach Colette Montgomery Montgomery said earlier this week on facing Indy Eleven. “We’ve scouted them and know what they do well. We lock in on what to do and bring our game to them. Hopefully we get that unfinished business finished.”
