Players are starting to trickle into Eagan for the summer and that means only one thing. Minnesota Aurora's fifth season is close and pre-season training "camp" has begun. This is season will look a lot different to longtime Aurora fans as the club has a massive amount of turnover. Many of the previous core players have gone pro (yay) and more have graduated and moved on to the "real world" following the end of their collegiate careers. Ultimately leaving Aurora with just two returning players and just one from the first season in 2022.
One of the huge changes is that Aurora is bringing mostly graduates into play this season. Those players may not be around to develop a core as Aurora did in the past."Maybe the most exciting thing about this group is how many grads we have," Aurora head coach Jen Larrick said. "It's a unique challenge, we've planned for it,"
Northland Soccer Journal
Another challenge will be the loss of defender/midfielder Jelena Zbiljic for at least part of the season. Zbiljic is returning from ACL reconstruction surgery in the offseason.
"I'm coming back from an ACL injury, I'm almost at nine months. Long term goals for me is to get back with the squad as quick as I can, in a healthy way," Zbiljic said to the media.
Minnesota Aurora's first pre-season friendly is this Saturday in Kansas City, MO. Aurora will face WPSL side Kansas City Current II. That match kicks off at Noon on Saturday from Riverside Stadium at the University of Kansas Health System Training Center in Riverside, MO.
