Aurora Watten Mikalsen (born 21 March 1996) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Toppserien club Brann. She has represented the Norway national team at multiple youth levels and received her first senior call-up in February 2018.[5]
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Aurora Watten Mikalsen[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1996-03-21) 21 March 1996 (age 26)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Kristiansund, Norway[3] | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Brann | ||
Number | 1 | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–2011 | Clausenengen | ||
2012–2014 | Arna-Bjørnar | ||
2015 | Clausenengen | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2014 | Arna-Bjørnar | 1 | (0) |
2013–2014 | → Arna-Bjørnar 2 (loan) | 18 | (0) |
2015 | Clausenengen | 6 | (0) |
2016–2019 | Kolbotn | 64 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
2020–2021 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | (0) |
2021– | Brann | 24 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2011 | Norway U15 | 2 | (0) |
2012 | Norway U16 | 3 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Norway U17 | 8 | (0) |
2014–2015 | Norway U19 | 16 | (0) |
2016–2019 | Norway U23 | 16 | (0) |
2022– | Norway | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 September 2022[4] |
She previously played in England with FA Women's Super League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Having started her youth career with her hometown team Clausenengen, Mikalsen moved to Arna-Bjørnar in August 2012.[6] On 2 November 2013, Mikalsen made her senior debut, starting for Arna-Bjørnar in a 2–1 Toppserien defeat to Vålerenga.[7]
In 2015, Mikalsen returned to Clausenengen. She split playing time between the under-19s and senior 2. divisjon team.[4] Mikalsen was also a regular starter for Clausenengen FK boys U19, which won the regional championship in the 2015 season.
On 16 December 2015, Mikalsen signed with Kolbotn ahead of the 2016 Toppserien season.[8] On 28 March 2016, Mikalsen made her debut for the team in a 1–1 draw with LSK Kvinner.[9]
In July 2019, Mikalsen trained with FA WSL club Manchester United while the team was on tour in Oslo.[10] On 6 September 2019, Manchester United made the permanent signing of Mikalsen, in need of a backup after injuries to Emily Ramsey and Fran Bentley coupled with the pregnancy of Siobhan Chamberlain left the team with only Mary Earps to start the season.[11][12] She made her debut on 21 November 2019, starting in an 11–1 League Cup Group Stage victory over Championship team Leicester City.[13] She left at the end of the season following the expiration of her contract having made one appearance.[14]
On 27 July 2020, it was announced Mikalsen had signed a one-year contract with WSL team Tottenham Hotspur.[15] With Spurs in good form having won their last three matches and only conceded twice, Mikalsen was forced into a debut on 31 January 2021 with regular starter Rebecca Spencer injured. She started in a 4–0 loss Chelsesa.[16] Mikalsen remained starter for the duration of Spencer's injury absence, playing a total of five games, all in the WSL. Spurs lost 1–0 to Aston Villa,[17] 3–2 to Everton, and 2–0 to Brighton & Hove Albion before Mikalsen earned her first and only clean sheet for Spurs as part of a goalless draw with Reading.[18] She left at the end of the season upon the expiry of her contract.[19]
On 28 July 2021, Mikalsen returned to Norway to sign with Toppserien side Sandviken.[20]
Mikalsen has represented the Norway national team at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-23 level.[4]
In 2018, Mikalsen received her first senior call-up as part of the 2018 Algarve Cup squad.[21] A year later, Mikalsen was part of the senior squad that won the 2019 Algarve Cup.[22] She made her debut in the 2022 Algarve Cup against Portugal.[4]
Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Arna-Bjørnar | 2013 | Toppserien | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2014 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Arna-Bjørnar 2 (loan) | 2013 | 2. divisjon | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
2014 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
Total | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
Clausenengen | 2015 | 2. divisjon | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
Kolbotn | 2016 | Toppserien | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
2017 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
2018 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
2019 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |||
Total | 64 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 0 | ||
Manchester United | 2019–20 | FA WSL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 2020–21 | FA WSL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Sandviken | 2021 | Toppserien | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
Career total | 94 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 103 | 0 |
Norway squad – UEFA Women's Euro 2022 | ||
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