Reigning champions and controversial ends: Minnesota women’s sports in 2025
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Minnesota remains a hub for all things women’s sports. This year saw championships, controversy and new additions.
The Frost won the championship for a second consecutive year. On the court, the Lynx fell short of making the finals.
On the pitch, the Aurora FC made it to the National Semifinals again. The Vixen continue to bolster women’s football.
As for new additions, TC Gemini began their inaugural season as Minnesota’s first professional women’s rugby team. There were also two volleyball leagues that announced Minnesota teams.
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Here are some of the most memorable and important moments in Minnesota women’s sports this year.
Jump to each team here.
Frost | Lynx | Aurora FC | Vixen | TC Gemini | Volleyball
Reigning champions, the Minnesota Frost
Most notably, the Frost defended their title as champions for the Professional Women’s Hockey League for a second consecutive year, making them the only team to win the Walter Cup in the young league’s first two years.
“When you say Walter Cup champion, you don’t have to be any more specific, because nobody else ever has won,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said at the championship celebration in May.
The Frost entered the 2024-25 season with a shakeup. General Manager Natalie Darwitz was fired after winning the first championship, a decision that was necessary for the betterment of the PWHL, said Jayna Hefford, vice president of hockey operations for the PWHL.
In July 2024, three key assistant coaches were also dismissed. But despite offseason departures, Ken Klee continued to lead the team to victory.
Across the league, the season saw an increase in talent. What seemed like a relatively easy fight to the postseason in their inaugural season was a world apart from placing fourth of six in regular season standings this year, just barely clinching a spot in the playoffs.
For the second year in a row, they rallied from an 0-1 series deficit in both the semifinals, where they played the Toronto Sceptres, and the finals against Ottawa Charge, sweeping the final three games in both rounds.
Every game in the best-of-five series went into overtime. The team even set a record with Game 3 of the finals series lasting three OTs, making it the longest in PWHL Finals history.
The team got to celebrate the win at home this year. The Frost thought they won the inaugural season at home as well, but the goal was disputed. The team later lost in double-overtime to Boston. They came back to win on the road, something that stuck with them as they entered the 2024 season.
“We got a taste of it a little bit last year, and we really came into this game with, you know, feeling like there was no tomorrow, like we wanted to get this done here and do it the right way,” then-Frost forward Liz Schepers said.
Schepers now plays for the Boston Fleet — one of many moves that happened in this year’s league expansion.
The team looks different as it enters the 2025-26 season, which began November. The expansion draft cost them key forward Brooke McQuigge and top defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques during the exclusive signing window before the draft.
The team has 3 wins, 2 losses and 1 overtime loss so far this season.
The Frost will be on the road in Vancouver for their next game on Dec. 27.
Lynx remain leading examples in fight for change
For a second year in a row, the Lynx ended their season with the spotlight fixed on them but for a different reason than non-fans might expect.
After a devastating 2024 season that ended short of a fifth and league record-setting championship after a controversial call, they again saw a contentious post-season run
Things erupted after the third game of the Lynx’s semifinals match against the Phoenix Mercury. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Lynx forward Napheesa Collier went down with what turned out to be torn ligaments after colliding with Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas.
Coach Cheryl Reeve interrupted the play to question referees, which led to her getting ejected from the game. Following the loss, she spoke to reporters.
“The officiating crew that we had tonight — for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is f——— malpractice,” Reeve said.
Reeve received what is believed to be the biggest fine for an individual coach or player in league history at $15,000 for her comments and conduct. She was also suspended from the fourth and — what turned out to be — final game of the series.
Days later, Collier spoke to reporters with a prepared statement disclosing private conversations she said she had with Cathy Engelbert that portrayed the WNBA commissioner as a leader who lacks accountability.
Collier’s statement ranged from speaking about the value players like Caitlin Clark bring to the league to discussing inconsistent officiating. It’s something Collier feels Engelbert and the WNBA haven’t addressed.
“We have the best league in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But we have the worst leadership in the world,” Collier said. “Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.”
Engelbert responded, saying there’s work to be done to repair relationships with players in the league. She also said there were “inaccuracies” in some of the comments attributed to her by Collier.
“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league and that I personally do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert said. “If the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and value from the league, we have to do better, and I have to do better.”
Things quickly bubbled over in a new and more publicized way. Viewership has grown, and with more hype surrounding college women’s basketball in the WNBA’s off season, fans’ investment in the sport hasn’t lost momentum. And with the inaugural season of the 3x3 league Unrivaled, started by Collier and New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart earlier this year, there has been even more opportunity for fans to embrace these athletes.
WNBA players Angel Reese and A’ja Wilson were quick to voice support for Collier, and other coaches echoed Reeve’s remarks.
The controversy came on the heels of almost constant limelight for the StudBudz, a stream started by players Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman that catapulted into social media streams around the W’s All-Star weekend.
It was also that weekend that players first wore the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts, drawing more attention to calls for fair compensation as they worked to reach an agreement with the league in the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the players union.
An agreement hasn’t been reached. The latest extension to the current agreement was pushed out to Jan. 9, 2026.
Unrivaled’s second season tips off Jan. 5. Collier and Stewart’s league have expanded by two teams, which added 12 roster spots.
As for the Lynx, an expansion draft will shake up the team. With the league adding teams in Portland and Toronto, the Lynx can only protect five players.
Minnesota, which had the best record in the league last year, will pick second in the WNBA draft. The team have Chicago Sky’s first-round pick after a previous trade.
This draft comes as the team sees a number of key players and players across the league becoming free agents. For the Lynx: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, DiJonai Carrington, Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman all enter free agency.
The WNBA will be back in May.
Aurora live up to their namesake as a sight to see
Minnesota’s pre-professional, community-owned women’s soccer team, the Minnesota Aurora FC, had another dominant season that finished disappointingly.
They remained undefeated during the regular season. They went on to win their fourth straight Heartland Division title. But in the playoffs, they fell short of their first championship.
The team has continued to nurture and draw talent since its inaugural season in 2022. Veteran forward Cat Rapp, who has been a member of the team since the club’s founding, remains a reliable presence on the field. Midfielder Jelena Zbiljic has been celebrated for her versatility and clutch goals. Goalkeepers Taylor Kane and Nadia Cooper have kept clean sheet consistently.
They’re joined by breakout 2025 rookies Natalie Tavana, who led the team in scoring with goals and assists, and Kunie Hirai who is a forward/midfielder.
The team’s larger focus remains vying for pro-status. Currently it’s amateur soccer — the players aren’t paid to play.
Rochester also has a club, southern Minnesota’s pre-professional soccer club. Their record was 3 wins, 8 draws and 1 loss last season.
Aurora hits the pitch late August or early September.
Vixens and flag football continue a legacy
The Vixen is Minnesota’s women’s full-contact football team. The team remains a foundational player in the state’s women’s sports community. The team, a part of the Women's Football Alliance, is the country’s longest continuously operating.
They finished with a 4-4 record overall. The team delivered a competitive year marked by strong performances from Paige Kuplic, who was named MVP, and Amanda Dvorak, who received Offensive Player of the Year.
The team has recently focused on player development — which is notable considering their large roster of over 70 players, including international talent and 19 rookies this past season.
The most challenging matchups were top teams like the Cali War, which the Vixens beat 37-26 during the playoffs, and St. Louis Slam.
In other women’s football news: the Vikings launched Minnesota's first statewide high school girls flag football league. Fifty-one Minnesota high schools competed this spring. The Mahtomedi Zephyrs were crowned the 2025 champions.
The Vixen hit the field again in April.
TC Gemini bring pro rugby to the North Star state
Women’s rugby saw its debut in Minnesota in 2025. The Twin Cities Gemini professional rugby team is one of six teams in the new Women’s Elite Rugby league.
Mixing elements of football and soccer, rugby is a pretty straightforward game. In traditional “15s” play, two teams of 15 players each are split into forwards and backs playing a match with two 40-minute halves.
The goal is to advance the ball past an opponent’s side of the field and touch it to the ground for a score of 5 points. Two-point conversions and 3-point penalties can also be scored.
TC Gemini will be back in the Spring.
Women’s volleyball joins the ranks
Two new professional women’s volleyball leagues announced in November that Minnesota will be the home of expansion teams. They will debut in 2027.
Both Major League Volleyball and League One Volleyball revealed new Minnesota teams this year.
Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, who owns the Minnesota Wild, will be the majority owner of the Major League Volleyball team. The company did not realize both leagues would have teams in the state, owner Craig Leipold said.
“You may understand or have heard there is another league, and this is the league that we have chosen,” Leipold said. “When we were doing our due diligence, we assumed that there would be one in this market. And really, you know, we feel very confident in our ability to be successful and put the right team out there and sell the tickets the right way.”
The Major League Volleyball team will play at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. League One Volleyball did not give details on its venue.
MPR News reporters Sam Stroozas and Regina Medina contributed to this story.
