May 18, 2025 | UPSL Women’s Division | Bob Pates Stadium, Burnsville, MN
Vlora Starting XI: Claire Acker, Maggie McAlister, Andrea Delius, Keira Olabode, Olivia Peal, Ava Tomas, Ellie Nhean, Lexi Johnson, Tina Million, Emma Olson, Hannah Hagman
Vlora’s women’s team faced a tough battle in their home opener on May 18, hosting the Minnesota TwinStars in a 5-0 loss. The result hid some promising moments for Vlora in the first hour of play, though the TwinStars also put on an impressive showing both offensively and defensively.
Jennifer Bobaric made it 1-0 in the 18th minute for the TwinStars with a curling shot that was tipped by Vlora goalkeeper Claire Acker but still tucked under the bar. It was the only goal of the first half following valiant performance by Acker, of St. Paul Highland Park, who made several saves as the visitors registered 16 total shots in the first 45 minutes. An injury forced Acker to exit the game at the break, at which point she was replaced by Northfield’s Gracie Freyberg.
Vlora had moments of promise in the first half, including a narrow miss on a one-on-one situation from player-coach Andrea Delius and general hard work on and off the ball from long-time Vlora player Olivia Peal of St. Michael-Albertville. Blaine-alum Ellie Nhean also looked to coordinate transitions on a day when each section of Vlora had positive moments, but struggled to link to the next area of the pitch.
The TwinStars came out of halftime with the right energy and, after a bit of back and forth, began to pepper big chances at Vlora, finding the back of the net multiple times despite strong work from Freyberg as well as defenders like Hannah Hagman (Farmington) and Kiera Olabode (Prior Lake). Hagman had one of the day’s most interesting duels through the evening against TwinStars striker Agatha Nimene and the UW Stout senior handled herself well, winning her share of foot races and battles in the air.
Substitutes like Leeanna Yang, Gabi Medeiros, Johnette Nagbe (Spring Lake Park), and Sisley Wessel helped change aspects of the game, especially as Nagbe and Peal made for a good pairing going forward, but the game-changing goal did not come for Vlora.
Head coach Vincent Knox, a familiar face and former player at Vlora who took this position last offseason, explained after the game that the team remains positive about what their talented roster can achieve, while acknowledging the work that has to be done after two tough losses.
“We have to understand that this is a very new team with a lot of new players who trying, very quickly, to chemistry together and figure out how to play together,” Knox said. “Individually, we feel there’s a lot of talent in this roster, so it’s about style and being on the same page. We’ve definitely taken our bumps in that process, but I think our players are resilient and the attitude has been positive. They’re focused more on being the solution than on zeroing in on one problem.”
Vlora’s two opening games have been 5-0 losses, but Knox noted that the two performances were very different and that the latter included signs of progress.
“The scoreline today was the same as our first game, but if you look at the two first halves we’ve played, they aren’t the same,” he added. “Night and day. Today, the second half didn’t go the way we wanted it to. The injuries added challenges for us to deal with and we played a TwinStars team that clearly has a strong, deep roster. In the end, we saw some things today we can build from and we saw some things that we have to take back to the lab.”
Vlora FC Women will play their next two games at home, hosting Superior City on May 25 and the Karen Football Association on June 1.
