July 3, 2026
WPSL 2026, Minnesota Thunder (photo by Jason Morales Ortiz)
By Andrew Mosier, WPSL Communications
Historically speaking, the Northern Conference has always been incredibly competitive. The 2026 season was no different, with the conference title coming down to a single goal.
Tied at the top of the table with 21 points and identical 7-0-1 records, it took the third tiebreaker, goal differential, to crown a Minnesota Thunder as Northern Conference champions.
With 27 goals scored and three against, Minnesota Thunder edged Salvo SC with its 21 goals scored and five against, by three goals.
The title is Minnesota Thunder’s third in regular season play since joining the league in 2021.
“Every season, our goal is to win the conference,” Danny Satorlin, Minnesota Thunder head coach, said. “We feel very fortunate to play in a league that provides such amazing competition.”
After a 6-1-1 division-winning record in 2025, Minnesota Thunder picked up where it left off with shutout wins over Joy AC and MN Bliss FC to open the season, and a 3-1 win over St. Croix Legacy on the road before its first encounter with longtime rivals, Salvo SC on the road in St. Paul.
A four-minute lapse in the first half cost Minnesota a pair of goals, making it 2-0 Salvo at halftime. Minnesota regrouped during the interval, locking down the back line. Greta Chmura scored from the penalty mark in the 57th minute to score her first of two goals on the season to make it 2-1.
The final half-hour of the match became a defensive battle led by Abby O’Brien, Sienna Sanchez, Adi Stadden, with Reese Elzen in goal.
Elzen and Brooke Boerish made up Minnesota Thunder’s goalkeeping corps that Storlien called two of the best goalkeepers the Minnesota Thunder academy ever produced.
Minnesota Thunder exacted revenge on Salvo a week later, following a 4-0 midweek win over Manitou F.C., Minnesota hosted Salvo at the Academy of Holy Angels Stardome in Minneapolis.
Anya Van Den Einde put Minnesota on the board in the 32nd minute, and the backline of Sanchez, O’Brien, and Staden backstopped by Goerish held Salvo scoreless.
Minnesota closed out the season with a pair of shutout wins: 10-0 versus Minnesota Dutch Lions FC and 3-0 at Mankato United in which Clara Fendunok scored a pair of goals in each game to make her the club’s leading scorer with six goals on the season, and tied for the conference Golden Boot with Salvo’s Davy Mokelke.
