Minnesota Aurora’s Mariah Nguyen brings Spicy Uno and confidence into playoffs

It s a ritual At the beginning of every road trip after the Minnesota Aurora FC gang bus pulls away from its Eagan training site out come the board games That s forward Mariah Nguyen s doing A soon-to-be graduate scholar at the University of Minnesota Nguyen loved weekend match nights with her parents and two younger brothers growing up in Andover So she started borrowing the games to take on the road with Aurora What better way to bond with your soccer teammates than a spirited round of Chameleon Event nights really united my family and kept us close so I sought to bring that here Nguyen declared Wednesday after an Aurora training session I think it s huge just for chemistry We re players but we re people first When we love each other and get to know each other outside of the soccer it really contributes to how we play on the field Coach Jen Larrick appreciates Nguyen taking that on She s just a really good human who creates a space where everybody can laugh together she reported Five days away in Sioux Falls is a long trip Being able to laugh over Pictionary is essential Nguyen and Larrick spoke on a gorgeous cloudless morning at TCO Stadium the Vikings training site that serves as Aurora s base Four days earlier Aurora the local amateur entry in USL W League wrapped up its fourth undefeated regular season in four years of existence with a - mastery over Rochester FC Aurora - - had already clinched its fourth Heartland Division title and a berth in the USL W Central Conference playoffs which begin Friday in Pittsburgh Top-seeded Aurora faces the expansion Pittsburgh Riveters - - with the winner advancing to Sunday s final The conference winner moves on to the league semifinals at a site to be determined It s hard to talk playoffs around Aurora without bringing up its failure the last two years to match the stunning success of the inaugural season Built from scratch with society ownership and a handful of founders doing most of of the work behind the scenes Aurora took South Georgia Tormenta SC to double overtime in the USL W championship match at TCO before losing - Aurora was the cool new thing that summer coming out of the COVID pandemic averaging a league-leading attendees per encounter better than three of the pro National Women s Soccer League teams Aurora attracted a season-high for the championship selling it out in less than hours Just the circumstances alone stuck with me mentioned Nguyen one of seven players left from that squad To have thousands of people out here cheering for us until a double-overtime last-minute goal it was heartbreaking It was really hard Aurora hasn t gotten back to the final since losing in the conference playoffs the last two years Average attendance slipped a little this year falling to from a club record in But that vibe returned last Saturday A season high turned out for Pride Night and the season finale as the unbeaten streak reached matches - - The capacity the food trucks the preteen and adult fans in Aurora gear it was all there Afterward the players high-fived fans while walking the perimeter of the stands to the sound of ABBA s hit Dancing Queen Fans congratulate Minnesota Aurora forward Mariah Nguyen second from left and teammates after a latest home encounter Credit Courtesy of Minnesota Aurora For all those wonderful moments the loss from still bugs Larrick an assistant to Nicole Lukic those first two seasons before returning as head coach this year She noted she brought it up before training Wednesday morning In it was so close we could taste it Larrick declared If I close my eyes I can see Tormenta celebrating I know what that felt like That s been a big motivation for me ever since A good chunk of our players were there too They care a lot about that Related Two goals for Minnesota Aurora USL championship and getting into a professional league This figures to be the last shot for the greater part if not all of the Original Seven Nguyen in particular tracks her advance from her Aurora experience She arrived that first season from Division II Bemidji State scared and wondering how she would fit in She went on to play regular-season matches in four seasons tied with Cat Rapp for the preponderance in club history while ranking second to Rapp in goals and points Coming from a D school I remember my first day of practice Nguyen explained I was just shaking There are all these huge college players from big schools and no one s ever heard of my school I felt so small But over the four years my confidence has grown a ton I came in as a center back and outside back and now I m playing left wing and forward Just to constantly have my coaching staff and my teammates pour into me you can do this you belong here you can take those shots that feel icky that maybe you wouldn t before just complete confidence in myself and in my abilities Transferring to St Thomas after that first summer Nguyen was a mainstay for three seasons in the Tommies transition to Division I leading the club in goals and points as a sophomore and junior A concussion limited her to seven matches as a senior She graduated with a degree in digital media and moved on to Minnesota to better prepare for a practicable pro career I m so excited for her revealed defender Jelena Zbilic another four-year Aurora veteran who finished her college career last season with the Gophs She worked so hard She brings such a positive habitat to every company she s on and she keeps soccer fun We all started playing soccer when we were little because it was super fun and she does a good balance of working hard and keeping it fun That s where the board games come in For the flight to Pittsburgh Nguyen planned to pack Spicy Uno similar to Crazy Eights with specific funky rules Chameleon which involves guessing who holds the Chameleon card and Telestrations where everyone s artistic skills or lack thereof come into play The latter was a big hit Everyone gets a card Nguyen announced Their card has a word that you have to draw After you draw it you pass it to the next person and you re guessing what they re drawing It s kind of like Telephone in a way but drawing and guessing We have particular people on our crew various staff members even whose drawing is a little questionable But it s so much fun We spend more time with each other take our minds off soccer and just enjoy each other s presence No better way to pass the time The post Minnesota Aurora s Mariah Nguyen brings Spicy Uno and confidence into playoffs appeared first on MinnPost