PLAYER PROFILE – AFC Toronto forward, Esther Okoronkwo, who was born in Umuahia, Nigeria, on March 7, 1997, has really made a big impact on the club. The 28-year-old Nigerian soccer player has already scored three goals for her club.
AFC Toronto’s Esther Okoronkwo: The Club’s Important Goal Scorer
Childhood
Okoronkwo moved a lot when she was a child. Her favourite team is Manchester United (Source: EaglesTracker of Ayo T).
She then moved to the U.S. and went to school there.
As a high school student, Okoronkwo showcased her talent at “Foster High School in Richmond, Texas. Her remarkable performances caught the attention of scouts, leading to a standout collegiate career at Lamar Lady Cardinals” (Source: Isaac Sanyaolu of Futball).
College Career (2016-20)
Northeast Texas Community College (2016-17)
Okoronkwo first played with the Northeast Texas Community College Eagles. As a freshman, she had 18 goals and four assists. She then scored 10 goals and five assists as a sophomore player. She would then move on to Lamar University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Business (Source: AFC Toronto).
Lamar University (2018-20)
Okoronkwo was redshirted in her junior year (2018) at Lamar University. This meant that Okoronkwo only played two years with Lamar University, with their women’s soccer team being known as the Lamar Lady Cardinals.
In her first year as a redshirt junior, Okoronkwo played in all 23 matches for the Cardinals. There, she made history in more ways than one. She destroyed the previous record of 28 points by earning 60 points herself. She also set the school record with 25 goals and is tied with the conference record. Okoronkwo was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region First Team. She was ranked second in the NCAA D1 rankings for goals in the 2019 season, as well as total points. In addition, she was ranked fifth with 1.09 goals per game in the NCAA D1 rankings.
In her redshirt senior year (2020), Okoronkwo played 12 games, which included becoming the ninth player in SLC history to record their third career hat trick.
During her college career, Okoronkwo won a lot of accolades, such as the Southland Conference All-Conference First Team (2019), Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year (2019), Southland Conference All-Tournament MVP (2019), and the United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region First Team (2019). In her redshirt senior year, she got the Southland Conference All-Conference First Team (2020), Southland Conference Player of the Year (2020), and the Southland Conference Forward of the Year (2020).
She made quite an impression at Lamar University, as her head coach at the time said this about her with the announcement of her starting her professional career in France (Source: Lamar University):
“I am extremely proud of Esther and excited to see her accomplish her goal of playing professional soccer,” said head coach Steve Holeman. “Signing with a team in the first division in France is an incredible achievement. She’ll go down as one of the greatest soccer players to ever play in the Southland, and I know she will do a wonderful job of representing Lamar University at the highest level.”
Source: Lamar University
Saint-Étienne (2021-23)
Okoronkwo’s first-ever pro team was with Saint-Étienne. There, she played 27 games and scored seven goals. It was also her first time playing in Europe, as she said this (Source: Lamar University):
“It is a first experience in Europe, I am very excited to start this season in D1 Arkema,” Okoronkwo said.
“My goal is necessarily to score as many goals as possible, but collectively, I first want to get along well with my teammates in the field.”
Of the three teams Okoronkwo played with before AFC Toronto, Saint-Étienne was the one team she played with the most. She highlighted her goal-scoring at the club, which included scoring two goals against Dijon FCO. She also played a role in the team earning promotion to the French D1 League for the 2022-23 season (Source: All Nigeria Soccer).
She also played for UD Tenerife (2023-24) in Spain, where she had two goals in 10 appearances, as well as Changchun Dazhong Zhuoyue (2024-25) in China, before moving on to her current club, AFC Toronto.
AFC Toronto (2025-Present)
In her limited time so far with AFC Toronto, she has already made a big difference to the club. This is a player that AFC Toronto sporting director, Billy Wilson, had high praise for (Source: AFC Toronto Press Page):
“We are delighted to welcome a player of Esther’s quality to Toronto. She is a player we identified
and tracked for some time, and we believe she has all the necessary attributes to be a genuine
difference-maker,” said Wilson. “Most comfortable as a centre forward, Esther’s technical and physical qualities allow her to occupy various positions, which she demonstrated on the highest stages. She is a fantastic addition to our roster, and I am sure our supporters will relish the opportunity to watch her represent the city during this new chapter.”
Okoronkwo is currently tied for second in the league in goals scored, as one of her three goals scored got the honours of being the NSL Goal of the Week.
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Nigeria (2021-Present)
Okoronkwo has represented the country where she was born since 2021. With Nigeria, she has already scored seven goals for the national team, which includes scoring three game-winning goals and two game-tying goals.
The goal she might be most known for was the one against Cameroon in the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifying tournament. It was the game-winning goal of the game, and it backed up Randy Waldrum’s controversial decision to bench Asisat Oshoala, who then played for FC Barcelona Femení, in favour of Okoronkwo. This is how the Super Falcons’ goal scored by Okoronkwo was described (Source: Super Falcons Show):
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Game Coming Up For AFC Toronto
READ MORE: Ottawa Rapid’s First Goal Changed the Momentum of the Game
AFC Toronto fans will be able to see Okoronkwo on Saturday. The game will be just the second-ever Battle of Ontario matchup against the Ottawa Rapid FC/CF Rapide Ottawa, and the first one to ever take place in Toronto.
READ MORE: PWHL and NSL: A Bond Like No Other
The game between the two Ontario rivals will take place at 12:00pm ET at York Lions Stadium.
Photo Credit: CREO Visions/AFC Toronto on April 27, 2025.
