The Minnesota Aurora FC announced a partnership with FOX 9+ for the 2023 season that will make all their home games — six in the regular season — available over the air and online (streaming on FOX9.com) starting with the home opener May 24 against Rochester FC.

"This is a huge step for our team and fans," said Andrea Yoch, president of Minnesota Aurora FC. "The commitment from a major local station to show our games is groundbreaking for our league and women's soccer. This access will help us continue to build the Aurora community."

Minnesota Aurora are a pre-professional women's soccer team in the USL W League that play at TCO Stadium in Eagan and averaged 5,518 fans, counting the playoffs, in their first season.

In 2022, Aurora went 11-0-1 in the regular season and won two more matches in the playoffs to reach the championship game before losing.

U to play Penn State in outdoors home opener

The starting time of the Gophers softball team's outdoors home opener against Penn State on Friday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium has been changed from 5 p.m. to noon, the team announced, because of the inclement weather forecast.

The teams will play at 1 p.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday.

Minnesota (19-13, 0-3 Big Ten) went 5-0 earlier this season playing at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Gophers, who were swept at Northwestern last weekend, are second in the conference with 40 home runs (Taylor Krapf has 10), and sixth in staff earned-run average at 2.65. Autumn Pease is sixth as an individual with a 1.79 ERA and has a conference-high 141 strikeouts.

The Nittany Lions (19-6, 1-2) are tied for eighth in homers with 17, but are first with a 1.76 ERA. Bailey Parshall is second with a 1.31 ERA.

Etc.

  • Augsburg University men's wrestling coach Tony Valek was named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year by The Open Mat, an amateur wrestling website. Earlier this month, Valek led the Auggies to their 14th NCAA national championship in program history, with an individual champion and seven All-America wrestlers.
  • Concordia (Moorhead) baseball coach Chris Coste announced that he will step down at the end of the 2023 season. He is in the midst of his ninth season as the Cobbers coach. He has a 140-127 overall record, 72-67 in conference play.
  • The No. 1 Gophers men's track and field team and the women's team were both scheduled to compete in the Hamline Invitational on Saturday but it was canceled because of poor track conditions and an unfavorable weather forecast.