Minnesota Aurora coach reflects on winning season

CATHY WURZER: Glad you're with us here on Minnesota Now, from MPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. Minnesota Aurora Women's Soccer Team is wrapping up their remarkable first-ever season this week. And so far, they are undefeated, and they're playing for the championship.

The championship game will be Saturday against Tormenta FC, based out of Georgia. Nicole Lukic is coach of the new team. She joins us right now. She also just won the USL Women's League Coach of the Year Award. Coach Nicole, welcome, and congratulations.

NICOLE LUKIC: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on again.

CATHY WURZER: Let's talk about you for a few minutes. The team is gelling nicely. What's your role in creating the atmosphere that's leading to success?

NICOLE LUKIC: Honestly, it's really just giving women the freedom to be themselves and creating a safe space, an environment where they can do that.

CATHY WURZER: To be a teacher, and a coach is certainly a teacher, to be a teacher, one must also be a student. And I'm curious, as a coach, how much self-improvement do you do to be a top coach?

NICOLE LUKIC: A lot goes into coaching, probably more than people think. Most recently, I just finished my US Soccer A license this past summer, which was about an 11-month course and probably more work than my master's degree was. So coaches are always trying to improve themselves and be the best version of themselves that they can be for their players.

CATHY WURZER: Let's talk about the team. When you and I talked-- oh, gosh, when you first-- was that-- before the first game, I believe.

NICOLE LUKIC: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: You knew. You said you had the beginnings of this team. You thought there could be something here, that you were-- as I say, you were starting to gel. You were kind of wondering where this was going to go.

And really, no one expected this first-year, pre-professional women's team to raise as much money as you did to get started. You're consistently selling out the Vikings Training Center stadium. There's supports from fans. How would you describe this opening season for the Aurora?

NICOLE LUKIC: It's really been a dream come true. So many people have put so much time and energy into Minnesota Aurora and making it what it is today. And for us to be able to get the results on the field, as well, and drive more people into the stadium to watch us play, it's just honestly, been a dream. And if we can finish it off and win this game on Saturday, it truly is a dream come true.

CATHY WURZER: I know you're busy on the sidelines coaching, but I'm curious, what does it feel like from the sidelines when it comes to the fan support and the energy in the stadium?

NICOLE LUKIC: It's incredible. It's unmatched. Ever since the first home game, you kind of got to pinch yourself and remind yourself, you're not a professional coach. You're a pre-professional coach who's living in this environment that feels so professional.

Our fans are just incredible. They have chants for our players. They really drive the energy. Our players feed off of it. We look forward to playing in front of the fans every opportunity we've gotten. So to be able to earn this championship game at home, it just means so much to us, and we're excited to share it with the community on Saturday.

CATHY WURZER: How are your players feeling going into the final match of the season and the championship, no less?

NICOLE LUKIC: They're excited. We've been talking about July 23rd since we met them in January and February and March and talking about getting to this moment. So for it to finally be here, we're prepared. We're ready, and we're going to do the best that we can.

CATHY WURZER: So when you and I first talked, we were talking about some of the folks that were going to be the anchors on the team. Did that turn out to be the case? Or were there some surprise anchors for the team, surprise leaders?

NICOLE LUKIC: You'd probably have to remind me of what I said. But to be honest, every single player on this team has had an incredible role in building us and who we are today. We've gotten to play every single player on the field, which can't be said by every team. So that's really special.

We've had over 13 goal scores on the team. We're not just relying on one player to get the job done. Our defense has been incredible. Sarah Fuller in the net has secured shutouts. We have four goalkeepers on the team, and all four of them have earned respectable minutes in different moments of the season. So everyone's really doing their part, and we're super proud of every single player on this team.

CATHY WURZER: I know you're concentrating on the championship game. But I'm kind of curious. Do you think the team will look about the same next season?

NICOLE LUKIC: Probably not, to be honest. We always hope to return as many players as we can, especially with such a incredibly successful year. But we have a lot of players on this team that have big goals of playing professional. So we're a stepping stone for them. And we hope that we can help them get to that next level of where they want to be.

CATHY WURZER: So the off season will be pretty busy, I'm assuming, huh?

NICOLE LUKIC: The work is never done. I mean, we've built an incredible foundation here in year one. And now we have to go back and work even harder to try to raise the bar for year two.

CATHY WURZER: So how can fans that are so rabid about the Aurora, when you're off season, can they keep up with the team? How can they do that? Any other women's soccer they should follow while Aurora is off season, perhaps?

NICOLE LUKIC: Oh, definitely. The majority of our players play NCAA collegiate soccer in the fall. So they could follow their favorite player and watch their games in person. A lot of college games these days are live-streamed. And I'm sure our social media team will be doing a good job of putting it out there where everyone's playing and what their games are, and things like that.

CATHY WURZER: I should say that the Aurora games have streamed on major sports outlets, which is fantastic. Have you gained unexpected fans because of that?

NICOLE LUKIC: I think so. Just sports in general, anytime you have a platform, your reach is just so much wider. So for our games to be on TV and to be streamed, and we have community owners in 48 states, 8 different countries, I like to think that Aurora is being watched all over the place.

CATHY WURZER: And before you go, so you are trying to get your team to where they need to be for this championship, to get their heads and everything in the right direction. How are you preparing yourself for this championship game as head coach?

NICOLE LUKIC: I'm just taking one day at a time. And we've done a good job of having that be our mindset up until this point. So I'm not going to change it now, just making sure we're doing the right things and training every day leading up to the championship, making sure we're doing the right things, scouting, game plan-wise, getting players healthy. So continuing to stay the course from the rest of the season, and hopefully, we can finish it out.

CATHY WURZER: I wish you well. I hope you can win and bring the championship back home for-- what an inaugural season that will be to cap that off if that happens. Good luck.

NICOLE LUKIC: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

CATHY WURZER: Nicole Lukic has been with us. She is the coach of the Aurora, the women's Minnesota Aurora Women's Pre-Professional Soccer Team. She's also the USL Women's League Coach of the Year. Congratulations.

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And while we're talking soccer, you probably know this if you're a Minnesota United fan. They're playing an exhibition game against a team from England tonight. The Loons are hosting the English Premier League's Everton in Saint Paul. Loons Coach Adrian Heath played six seasons for Everton, helping the team win the two first division titles. They'll resume MLS play on Saturday against Houston.