ANALYSIS – On Sunday, AFC Toronto celebrated a win in front of their home crowd at York Lions Stadium. AFC trailed early in the game but fought their way back into the game as they ended up taking all three points in a 2-1 win over the Montreal Roses FC.
However, the bigger deal about Sunday was AFC’s accomplishment. They had won the Supporters’ Shield (best record in the Northern Super League’s (NSL’s) regular season) and won the NSL’s first-ever major trophy.
AFC Toronto Celebrates Win In A Memorable Afternoon in Toronto
AFC Toronto Got Behind the Montreal Roses FC’s Backline
The reason why AFC Toronto won this game was their constant ability to get behind the Montreal Roses FC’s backline. Some examples of this include:
- The goal scored by Sarah Stratigakis was a classic example of that. Nikayla Small found Lauren Rowe, who was able to find Stratigakis, who put the ball into the back of the net.
- Stratigakis had a chance to score a few moments before her goal but missed the net.
There were other instances where AFC used their passes to get past the Montreal defence, and there was no one better on that than Esther Okoronkwo.
READ MORE: AFC Toronto’s Newest Midfielder: Sarah Stratigakis
Esther Okoronkwo Had A Fantastic Game
Even though Esther Okoronkwo never scored a goal, she was probably their best player. For example:
- Early on, she provided some fantastic passes to Rowe, but she was unable to convert.
- She was the one who found Small inside the box, whose shot ended up in the back of the net, as seen above.
Okoronkwo also provided a great ball to Stratigakis in the first half. Even though Stratigakis did not convert, the play highlighted what Okoronkwo was able to do throughout the game.
READ MORE: Esther Okoronkwo: AFC Toronto’s Leading Goal Scorer
The Montreal Roses FC’s Goalkeeper Kept The Team in The Game
Huge credit should be given to the Montreal Roses FC goalkeeper, Anna Karpenko. She kept the game close and almost earned a result for her team on the road at York Lions Stadium. Some of the plays she made included:
- Being brave and stopping two of Lowe’s shots.
- The save she made from Lowe’s shot in the 60th minute, as seen above, was spectacular.
This writer asked what Karpenko meant to the Roses and the Montreal head coach, Robert Rositoiu, had high praise for her:
“We fight very much to get Anna, this girl from Toronto, so we’re very happy with her, and today, she showed the leadership that she has and the quality that she has. So, I hope that the national team coaching staff will look at her.”
Other Factors
Marko Milanovic, the AFC Toronto head coach, liked the reaction of his team and how they played in the game after conceding the early goal to Montreal:
“I really love the reaction after we conceded with the goal.”
This will be a very important characteristic for the club as they now enter the high stakes of the NSL playoffs.
However, they were also things to celebrate, one is the fact that AFC won their first-ever major trophy in NSL history by winning the Supporters’ Shield:
“We feel amazing. It’s a really rewarding feeling. Winning the league was our main goal from day one, we made that very clear. Now we very much look forward to winning in the playoffs. So, the feeling is absolutely fantastic and we’re going to enjoy it today, and then we’re right back to work.”
He also answered this writer’s question on what it means to have two of the three NSL players on the Canadian women’s soccer team (CANWNT) roster:
“We’re very proud of those girls, and we think there’s more to come, hopefully. We think there’s another few players in this roster that deserve the same type of opportunity, and we’re going to do everything we can to continue to develop them so they can.”
Milanovic also talked about the fantastic work Diana Matheson has done, which included the trophy that everyone will be competing for in November:
“Diana absolutely deserves this. She was absolutely key in starting this.”
Games Coming Up For Both Teams
It is now all about the NSL playoffs. AFC Toronto and the Montreal Roses FC will compete each other in a two-leg series on November 1 and November 9.
The first game will be televised live on CBC and RDS, while the second game will also be televised live on TSN and RDS. With Toronto being the higher seed, Montreal will host the first game at Stade Boréale in Laval, Quebec at 12:00 pm ET, before Toronto hosts Montreal again at York Lions Stadium at 2:00 pm ET.
This is while the Ottawa Rapid FC and the Vancouver Rise FC will be the other NSL semifinal.
The first game will be shown on November 4 at 7:00 pm PT and 10:00 pm ET, and then the second game will take place on November 8 at 3:00 pm ET and 12:00 pm PT. The first game will be shown live on TSN at Swangard Stadium in Swangard, BC, before both teams travel to the nation’s capital to face the Ottawa Rapid FC at TD Place Stadium.
Note #1: This game has been dubbed as a Fans Appreciation Night, as mentioned by AFC Toronto. As the final regular-season home game, Milanovic said this about what the fans meant to the club: “They’ve been our 12th player all season long. We love being here. It really feels like home. This is where we train daily and spend so much time.”
Note #2: With AFC Toronto winning the Supporters’ Shield trophy, they earned the right to be part of the World Sevens Football competition, as mentioned by the World Sevens Football X Account. There will be eight clubs in the competition, with the other teams confirmed being Club América Femenil and Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.
Note #3: If one wants to see the AFC Toronto post-match press conference, the link is provided here.
READ MORE: Nikayla Small: A Standout AFC Toronto Midfielder
Photo Provided by AFC Toronto on October 19, 2025.
