AFC Toronto, Northern Super League

Sierra Cota-Yarde: A Crucial Goalkeeper for AFC Toronto

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AFC Toronto Goalkeeper, Sierra Cota-Yarde, on August 17, 2025

PLAYER PROFILE – Sierra Cota-Yarde is a Portuguese international goalkeeper who was born and brought up in Toronto, Ontario. The 5’11” 22-year-old goalkeeper has created a name for herself with the club.

Sierra Cota-Yarde: Upcoming Portuguese Goalkeeper

Childhood

Cota-Yarde played youth soccer with SC Toronto, Benfica Toronto, and the North Toronto Nitros. Also, even though Cota-Yarde was born and brought up in Toronto, she was able to play with Portugal because of her mother, as revealed in the University of Arkansas article:

“My mom, Cidalia Cota, was born in Portugal on a tiny island called Terceira. She immigrated to Toronto with her mother, father, grandmother and five siblings when she was four years old. Since she was born there, I was granted access to Portuguese citizenship, which allowed me to get a Portuguese passport and eventually have the opportunity to train with the Portuguese National Team.”

Cota-Yarde has deep connections to Portugal, with her first jersey being Portuguese, according to the Northern Super League YouTube Account.

Also, before her time with the University of Arkansas, she was with Central Toronto Academy, before moving to a U.S. college, as indicated by the Portuguese Tribune Newspaper.

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College Career (2021-24)

Cota-Yarde started her play with the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers (Prairie View A&M University). She was there for 2021, as she played seven games for them.

She then played for the University of Arkansas with the Arkansas Razorbacks. In her sophomore year (2022), she was in two penalty shootouts, including the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Vanderbilt on November 1 and the NCAA Sweet 16 match versus Memphis on Nov. 20. She scored penalties in both games.

Then in 2023, she started the first eight matches of the season for the Razorbacks. She got shutouts against both Arkansas State and Oregon.

In 2024, with the SMU Mustangs (Southern Methodist University), she appeared in all 17 games during the season and closed the year with a record of 5-9-2. She had a total of 77 saves, including a season-high of nine in a 1-1 draw against No. 2 Florida State (9/22/24). She had two recorded shutouts and made five saves against Syracuse (9/12/24) for the program’s first-ever ACC victory.

Source: Prairie View A&M University, the Arkansas Razorbacks, and Southern Methodist University (SMU).

READ MORE: Esther Okoronkwo: AFC Toronto’s Leading Goal Scorer

North Toronto Nitros (2022-24)

This is what Sierra Cota-Yarde said, according to The Shift Sports’ TikTok Account:

“It was almost like a pre-professional program. And the way that they had established the club from the grassroots, the way we would have, the training style, things like that. Match Day, like it was very professional based. And so that really allowed us to kind of take a stepping stone into this next step.”

She made eight appearances for the Nitros, as it helped her get to the next club: AFC Toronto.

AFC Toronto (2025-Present)

Cota-Yarde was signed to AFC Toronto before the start of the 2025 NSL season. This is what Cota-Yarde of The Canadian Press said:

“To be able to come back home is something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do,” said Cota-Yarde. “Being able to promote soccer to younger Canadian players is incredible; they now have something to work toward, and I’m proud to be a part of this project.”

Assistant coach Sylvia Forbes had high praise for the goalkeeper, as she said this according to the AFC Toronto website:

“She has good confidence. She doesn’t get phased too much. She’s really good at staying locked in and making sure that she’s focused on the task at hand. She doesn’t allow herself to get too rattled.”

Also, after the 2-1 win over the Montreal Roses FC on August 9, Marko Milanović had high praise for Cota-Yarde, as he said this on the AFC Toronto website:

“She’s incredible. That’s what we love about seeing how confident she is when she steps on the field… She steps in, and the way she carries herself is with so much confidence, and that’s how she played today.”

It is not only at the club level that she is making her mark, but also at the international level with Portugal.

READ MORE: Cloey Uddenberg: An Important Ontario Player for AFC Toronto

Portugal (2024-Present)

READ MORE: Croix Soto: A Top-Class AFC Toronto Defender

Cota-Yarde talked about her time playing with Portugal, as well as the one dubbed as the “Women’s Cristiano Ronaldo,” Jéssica Silva. This is what Cota-Yarde said about training with Silva, according to the University of Arkansas Website:

“Training with Jessica and the rest of the team was such an incredible experience, which allowed me to learn and grow on a professional level. She and the rest of my teammates have so much experience and were so willing to teach me things that could improve my game. Any time that I can play with such outstanding talent is such a blessing as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Cota-Yarde has proven to be good enough to be in the Portuguese roster, as she made the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 roster and was also called up for the recent games in December against

Schedule for AFC Toronto Revealed

READ MORE: 2025 AFC Toronto Season: NSL Supporters’ Shield Champions

The schedule for AFC Toronto has been revealed. They will have 25 matches, with 13 of those games being at home. Their first-ever game will be on the road, at Swangard Stadium, where they will face the Vancouver Rise FC. They will then play their first-ever home game on May 3 against the Halifax Tides FC at BMO Field.

Photo Credit: Amaya for AFC Toronto on August 17, 2025.

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