ANALYSIS – Sabrina D’Angelo got a clean sheet in her debut. In her debut, she was not busy but made a big save late in the game as AFC Toronto won the game 2-0 and reclaimed third place in the Northern Super League (NSL).
Sabrina D’Angelo Earns Clean Sheet in Win over the Montreal Roses FC
Sabrina D’Angelo Made Some Big Saves
Sabrina D’Angelo had an excellent game. The CANWNT international goalkeeper played her first game in the NSL with AFC Toronto on Thursday. In that game, Noémi Paquin passed the ball to Claire Monyard, who passed the ball to Lorie Thibault. Thibault’s shot was then stopped by D’Angelo.
Montreal Roses’ Thibault’s shot was easily stopped by Sabrina D’Angelo.
AFC Toronto’s Defence Was Solid
AFC Toronto’s defence was spectacular. With a lot of the deserved criticism of how AFC Toronto started against the Vancouver Rise FC, they more than made up for it with the performance seen against the Montreal Roses FC.
On many different occasions, AFC Toronto’s defence stepped up against the Montreal Roses FC. Some examples include:
- In the 66th minute, Shelina Zadorsky blocked a Montreal Roses FC shot, and Croix Soto immediately cleared the ball out of danger.
- Rollins blocked a shot from Noémi Paquin in the 84th minute of play.
- Sarah Rollins made a good defensive play in the 87th minute, as she made a well-timed tackle against the Montreal Roses FC player.
AFC Toronto played very well defensively. Craig Forrest was even saying at the half-time show that AFC was not allowing the Roses much space to work with the ball, as mentioned on the Northern Super League YouTube Account (can be seen at the bottom). This shows how good AFC Toronto’s defence was.
READ MORE: AFC Toronto Struggled to Start Off the Game in a 3-0 Loss at Home
Both Kaylee Hunter and Lauren Rowe Played Well
With the forward pairing, Kaylee Hunter and Lauren Rowe played well, as they made positive plays across the pitch. Some examples include:
- Kaylee Hunter delivered a great cross to Lauren Rowe, who put the ball into the back of the net for AFC Toronto to take the lead.
- Lauren Rowe got a pass from Kaylee Hunter and put the ball into the back of the net.
This was not the only example. Hunter was trying to score her second goal throughout the game. She almost got that chance late in the game, when Mia Fontana delivered a great cross to Kaylee Hunter into the box, but her shot went wide.
Some other examples included Rowe winning the ball as she took the ball from Chloe Minas, and it resulted in Minas getting a yellow card.
READ MORE: The Ottawa Rapid Ends AFC Toronto’s Five-Game Unbeaten Run
Other Factors: Three Notable CANWNT/CANXNT Players Played in Today’s Game
There were three noteworthy CANWNT/CANXNT players that made their NSL debuts on Thursday. As mentioned before, goalkeeper, D’Angelo, made her debut appearance for AFC Toronto.
The other two are the Montreal Roses FC’s midfielder, Marie-Yasmine Alidou, and AFC Toronto’s centre-back, Shelina Zadorsky. Zadorsky talked about what it was like:
“It’s pretty surreal to say that I’m playing professional football in my home country,” Zadorsky said. “To get the win and the clean sheet, and to be welcomed into this group has been really special.
Both Alidou and Zadorsky made a big impression. This is what AFC Toronto head coach Marko Milanović said about the win, according to AFC Toronto:
“Shelina and Sabrina definitely gave us a lift and a sense of security and confidence for the players around them.”
Both Zadorsky and D’Angelo earned co-players of the game for AFC Toronto for the win over the Montreal Roses FC, as mentioned on the X (Tweet) seen above.
READ MORE: Lauren Rowe Continues To Impress in Draw at TD Place Stadium
Games Coming Up For AFC Toronto
AFC Toronto will host the Calgary Wild FC at York Lions Stadium. It will be shown live in Canada on TSN and in the U.S. on ESPN+. That game will take place at 7:00 pm ET at York Lions Stadium. They will then travel to Calgary to face them at McMahon Stadium. That game will happen on Saturday and will be shown live on TSN and ESPN+ as well.
READ MORE: Roses FC Earns Draw Late Against AFC at York Lions Stadium
This is while the Roses will travel to face the Vancouver Rise FC at Swangard Stadium at 10:00 pm ET (7:00 pm PT). It will be shown on TSN+ and YouTube on July 29. They will then host the Halifax Tides FC at the Stade Boréale on August 7. The game will be televised nationally on TSN.
In addition, both of the Roses’ games above will be shown on ESPN+ and RDS.
Photo Credit: Sean Pollock for AFC Toronto on July 23, 2026, of a Sabrina D’Angelo Headshot.
