Two of the top pre-professional clubs in Minnesota face off in the final friendly before each club starts the regular season. Four time straight defending USLW Heartland Champion Minnesota Aurora host two time WPSL Northern Conference and 2023 Central Region champion Salvo SC. Both clubs are based in Eagan, Minnesota, and in fact, Salvo has offices in TCO Stadium, but this is the first matchup between the neighbors. That is because Aurora plays in the USL W, Salvo in the WPSL, and there is no Women's Open Cup.
The two squads have decidedly different profiles. Aurora has one Minnesotan and a nationally recruited and experienced squad. Salvo has only two players who aren't from the North Star state, and one of those is from just over the border in Hudson, WI. One common trait is that the rosters have not been together in their current form for long.
Minnesota Aurora - USLW
One thing massively different about Aurora in 2026 compared to previous years is the longtime core of the club has left. Either going professional or moving on past football into a career, at the end of the day Aurora has only two returning players. Those being second year midfielder Angela Gutierrez and fifth year player Jelena Zbiljic, who is currently recovering from injury.
Minnesota Aurora has another distinct advantage, with the club having one match under its belt already this year. Sadly for Aurora that match did not go there way as they fell 4–0 to Kansas City Current II, the reserve side of NWSL club Kansas City Current. Aurora did play shorthanded in that match with many of the players not having made their way into Minnesota by that point. This week is different as more players have come into the North Star State for the summer and the roster is starting to fill out.
Two time Big West Goalkeeper of the Year Isaac Ranson (Cal State-Fullerton), first team All-Big Sky defender Kalo Iongi (Portland State) will be two players to watch out for defensively this season. Offensively the club has brought in only to players who's primary spot is forward in Angela Gutierrez (Drake) and Maia Tabion (Columbia) alongside Flavie Dubé (Memphis) who can play forward, though is primarily a midfielder.
Salvo SC - WPSL
The perennial contender in the WPSL Northern Conference is the epitome of "we don't rebuild, we reload", and much of that load comes from within their very strong academy side.
The pipeline has been managed by Matt Cross, the GM of Salvo WPSL. Case in point, starting goalkeeper Ayden Gagner is 21 but already a veteran of WPSL play, and the squad includes two 16 year olds. Stretching the credulity of the word "oldest" are the 23 year old Fiona Skwierawski and Maddie Ishaug. As if they needed reinforcement, the Iowa Hawkeye Berit Parten joins from NOSC Blast - fresh from a Golden Boot in UPSL.
Last season, Salvo finished 1 point off the playoffs, as Minnesota Thunder and St Croix Legacy finished 1 and 2 in the North Lakes Conference, Land of Lakes Division. Their best run in their 6 years in the WPSL was a National Runner Up spot in 2023. Their all-time record in the league is 42-6-9 (W-D-L), amounting to a .789 winning percentage.
