Summer League Recap: Aurora and MN Thunder rolling, Superior City repping the North, and Equal Time Headed to Sioux Falls!

6/15/2023

"Aurora in Bubble" Photo Credit Dan Mick (@danielmickphoto)

The weather cannot stop summer soccer from happening. Whether thats 90 degrees with humidity on turf, or an air quality crisis from Wild Fires in the north, the game apparently finds a way to play on. MN Aurora relocated a game mid day to the Stillwater Rec Bubble and kept it rolling with a 5-0 win over Green Bay. In the new UPSL Midwest West, Superior City is earning shine with early results and a place at the top of the table. In the WPSL, the Minnesota Thunder would like to remind you that they score goals and if the vibe is right, that could mean 5, 7 or 9 that they put past you. We're basically halfway through our Summer Leagues and most of the teams have plenty of playoff hopes to play for. Equal Time has been on the ground for a ton of games already and this Sunday we will make the drive west to cover Sioux Falls City vs Rochester United FC. Stay tuned for content on Sunday and watch the high quality stream that they produce. Dig into the past 2 weeks results and we'll give you the games to watch for the coming weeks in the North!

WPSL

Northern Conference

Paige Peltier has 7 goals and 2 assists for MN Thunder as they’ve torched the early half of their schedule aside from a draw with Salvo. 7-2 to St Croix, 5-1 against Mankato and 9-1 at Joy AC stand out, but not to be totally outdone, both Maplebrook and Salvo wanted to remind you they are also in the top echelon of squads each year with 6-0 hits of their own. Even though the Thunder have a +19 goal difference in 5 games, they’re still just ahead of Salvo, Manitou and Sioux Falls City with Maplebrook sure to make a jump in the standings as well. Stay tuned for the brutal race for 1 playoff spot among 10 teams in the Northern Conference, starting with Sioux Falls visiting MN Thunder on Saturday, June 16.

June 2
Maplebrook 3-4 Rochester United FC
Sioux Falls City FC 0-0 Joy AC
Manitou FC 2-0 Dakota Fusion FC
Salvo SC 2-0 St Croix SC

June 4
Dakota Fusion 0-6 Maplebrook Fury
Manitou FC 1-0 Mankato United SC
MN Thunder 1-1 Salvo SC

June 7
MN Thunder 5-1 Mankato United SC
Rochester United FC 0-3 Manitou FC

June 9
Mankato United SC 0-2 Sioux Falls City FC
Rochester United FC 2-1 Dakota Fusion FC
MN Thunder 7-2 St Croix SC

June 10
Maplebrook Fury 0-0 Manitou FC

June 11
Dakota Fusion FC 0-1 Mankato United SC
Sioux Falls City 2-0 St Croix SC
Salvo 6-0 Joy AC

June 14
Joy AC 1-9 MN Thunder

WPSL Games to Watch

Minnesota Thunder vs
Sioux Falls City FC
Friday, June 16, 6pm
STREAM: Eleven Sports

Maplebrook Fury vs
Joy AC
Saturday, June 24, 7pm
STREAM: Eleven Sports

USL W League

Heartland Division

MN Aurora sit comfortable atop the USLW Heartland Division with a 7-0 record and eye popping +32 goal difference, but at least 4 teams other than Aurora could still find a playoff bid. Chicago City and Bavarian United are in especially good footing to contend for a Wild Card bid (which goes to the 2nd place team with the best points per game between Heartland and Great Lakes Divisions), with Green Bay and Chicago Dutch Lions still showing potential. As of Now Chicago City would earn that Wild Card. For City, Bavarian and Green Bay, their games on the 16th, 17th and 21st seen below will make the playoff picture that much clearer.

June 3
Bavarian United SC 2-2 Chicago City SC

June 4
Rochester FC 0-1 MN Aurora FC
Green Bay Glory 1-2 RKC Third Coast

June 7
Green Bay Glory 1-2 Chicago City SC
RKC Third Coast 1-3 Bavarian United SC
MN Aurora FC 6-1 Chicago Dutch Lions

June 9
Bavarian United SC 4-0 Rochester FC

June 10
RKC Third Coast 0-4 Chicago Dutch Lions

June 11
Chicago City SC 1-3 MN Aurora FC
Green Bay Glory 3-1 Rochester FC

June 13
Bavarian United SC 1-2 Chicago Dutch Lions

June 14
Rochester FC 2-3 RKC Third Coast
MN Aurora FC 5-0 Green Bay Glory

USL W League Games to Watch

Chicago City SC vs
Green Bay Glory
Saturday, June 17th, 6pm
STREAM: Eleven Sports &YouTube

Chicago City vs
Bavarian United SC
Wednesday, June 21, 6pm
STREAM: Eleven Sports & YouTube

UPSL

Midwest West Divison

After 5 games, Superior City FC, the team (exclusively) from the North, is an early surprise for this new Division. Their roster is local, made up of UW Superior, UM-Duluth, St Scholastica players and others from area high schools in the Twin Ports Region, so you have to give Head Coach Sharon Lehti credit for finding a rhythm so early against the largely metro based Midwest West division, where it’s simply easier to find players. Aside from Granite City, the teams are showing competitive balance with Tonka Fusion Elite and Superior City standing just above Vlora and Northern Tide, and St Croix also struggling a bit like Granite City. For Tonka Fusion to hold their spot up top with Superior City, they face a home and away with Vlora, who could climb to top the table with results against Tonka. Vlora has a stream for the June 24 game, so if you’re looking for a UPSL match to watch, that’d be the one next weekend.

June 3
Northern Tide FC 1-1 Tonka Fusion Elite
Granite City FC 1-2 Vlora FC

June 4
Superior City FC 1-1 St Croix SC

June 10
Northern Tide FC 1-0 Vlora FC
Granite City FC 0-4 Superior City FC

June 11
Tonka Fusion Elite 4-0 St Croix SC

UPSL Games to Watch

Tonka Fusion Elite vs
Vlora FC
Sunday, June 18, 5pm
Minnetonka High School

Vlora FC vs
Tonka Fusion Elite
Saturday, June 24, 7pm
STREAM: YouTube

Check out our interview with Haley Kopmeyer of Just Womens Sports (and a MN Aurora Community Owner) to hear about her thoughts on the rapid growth of the game, where Aurora is at in year 2 and MORE! Click image to watch on YouTube!

Lis Schendel of Protagonist Soccer and California Storm also dropped by a Pregame to chat West Coast W League expansion, playoff potential and MORE! Click image to watch on YouTube!

0 Comments