Toronto defeats Ottawa 8-2 on aggregate in the semifinal to confidently book a second-straight NSL Final appearance
Ottawa, ON (November 7, 2026) – Kaylee Hunter scored her second-straight brace as AFC Toronto booked a spot in the 2026 NSL Final with a 4-0 win over Ottawa Rapid FC, defeating the club 8-2 on aggregate. The club will now face the winner of the semifinal tie between Montreal Roses FC and Vancouver Rise FC next weekend in the Final.
Early in the match, Lena Silano pressured goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais, forcing a ball to Kaylee Hunter, who buried her third of the postseason. Later in the half, Hunter completed the brace when midfielder Zoe Hasenauer found her with a chip pass into the box, and Hunter charged in to bury it. The goal marked Hunter’s fourth of the postseason and Hasenauer’s first career NSL assist. Nearing injury time, Lauren Rowe chased a ball down the wing and flung it in front of the net, where Lena Silano put the finish for her second of the postseason.
In the second half, Toronto extended its lead with some clever passing play, ending with Lauren Rowe crossing in a ball and Nikki Small burying it. The goal marked Small’s first of the postseason and Rowe’s second assist. Toronto remained composed through the final portion of the match, securing the clean sheet and a place in next weekend’s Final.
“We’re obviously really happy with the result and the performance,” said head coach Marko Milanović. “I thought the girls again delivered in a big game. It’s something that we've done over the last few years. Anytime there was a big occasion, these girls show up and play the way they did today. So really happy for them and obviously the job is not done for us. We have one more.”
Kaylee Hunter, on the team’s offensive success: “It's amazing. I think we've been ruthless in our attack. We've shown that these past two games. Putting eight goals on the scoresheet in two legs isn't easy. I think our attack just speaks for itself. We're on a high right now. We just hope to carry that into next weekend.”
Next Saturday, AFC Toronto will play in its second-straight NSL Final, set to face the winner of the semifinal tie between Montreal and Vancouver. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. ET at Ottawa’s TD Place Stadium.
KAYLEE HUNTER: Kaylee Hunter scored her second-straight brace on Saturday, bringing her semifinal total to four goals and an assist.
LENA SILANO: Lena Silano had a goal and an assist on Saturday, totalling two goals and two assists across the semifinals. The American striker boasts five goals across her last six matches.
NIKKI SMALL: Toronto captain Nikki Small scored her second career NSL playoff goal on Saturday.
ZOE HASENAUER: Zoe Hasenauer recorded her first NSL goal contribution with an assist on Saturday.
LAUREN ROWE: Lauren Rowe had two assists on Saturday.
SABRINA D’ANGELO: Sabrina D’Angelo made three saves to secure her first NSL playoff clean sheet
SIERRA COTA-YARDE: Goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde entered the match in the 60th minute, earning her first minutes since July 18th.
BACK-TO-BACK: AFC Toronto is set to appear in the NSL Final for the second year in a row.
UP NEXT: AFC Toronto faces either Montreal Roses FC or Vancouver Rise FC in the 2026 NSL Final at TD Place Stadium on Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. ET (Available on CBC and TSN; French broadcast on RDS; U.S. streaming on ESPN+).
MATCH SUMMARY
AFC Toronto - 4 | Ottawa Rapid FC - 0
Venue: TD Place Stadium
Referee: Alain Ruch
Assistants: Marko Kalic, Allycia Carlucci
Fourth Official: Salma Flores-Desrochers
Referee Observer: Joe Audi
SCORING SUMMARY
AFC Toronto: K. Hunter (6’, 29’), L. Silano (44’), Small (52’)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
61’ - Yellow: Shelina Zadorsky (AFC Toronto)
73’ - Yellow: Keera Melenhorst (Ottawa Rapid FC)
STARTING LINEUP & STATS
AFC Toronto Starting Lineup:
GK Sabrina D’Angelo (Welland, ON)
DF Colby Barnett (USA)
DF Sarah Rollins (Toronto, ON)
DF Shelina Zadorsky (London, ON)
MF Olivia Chisholm (Toronto, ON)
MF Zoe Hasenauer (USA)
MF April Lantaigne (Ajax, ON)
MF Lauren Rowe (Conception Bay South, NL)
MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON)
FW Kaylee Hunter (Calgary, AB)
FW Lena Silano (USA)
Substitutes: Sierra Cota-Yarde (GK), Danielle Krzyzaniak (GK), Ashley Cathro (DF), Zoe Burns (MF), Nyota Katembo (MF), Sarah Stratigakis (MF), Cloey Uddenberg (MF), Mia Fontana (FW), Kaila Novak (FW)
Total Shots: 17
Shots on Goal: 6
Fouls: 15
Offsides: 3
Corner Kicks: 6
Saves: 4
Video Highlights
Media can access video highlights from the match on the Northern Super League YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@NorthernSuperLeague
Photo Highlights
Media can access photo highlights from the match here.
Match Summary
A complete summary of the match facts and stats can be viewed at: www.afctoronto.ca/games/2026-11-07-nsl-playoffs
More from the locker room:
Captain Nikki Small, on the result: “I think as you've seen throughout the season, if we start on the front foot, we're obviously winning the game. And I think last game, the first leg, we started off on the front foot and it went well for us. So we had that mindset going into this game of just scoring a goal early, putting the tie away. But obviously we weren't satisfied with one goal, so we got multiple.”
Marko Milanović, on the clean sheet: “I don’t think people realize how hard it is to defend against this Ottawa team, because they’re such a good attacking team. They’ve been that for the last two years under Katrine (Pedersen). You really have to be focused the entire 90 minutes not to allow too many chances.”
Milanović, on keeping level-headed despite entering the match leading on aggregate: “That was my one worry going into the game, that potentially we would try to defend that lead that we got last week and not play the way we normally play. But the girls did incredibly well to play one of our best games of the year in the second leg of a semifinal. So really, really happy with that.”
Milanović, on the impact of this week’s match on the Final: “The Final will be a completely different game, different opponent. We enjoy those moments. We enjoy big games, big occasions, so we'll be ready to go. But I don't think today's game really impacts next week's.”
Milanović, on the club’s goal entering a second-straight Final: “This team's goal is always to win, to win every competition we're in. And that's not because we don't respect our competition, we have a lot of respect for all the teams in this league. But those are just the goals and standards we set for ourselves. In terms of last year, if we come out and we play the way we did in last year’s Final, I'll be more than happy. And then the result, you can't control, obviously. So we'll do everything we can to win that game, and if the performance is anything like last year's, I'm pretty sure we'll get it done.”
Milanović, on the team’s mentality entering the Final: “We'll treat the week exactly the same as the first game of the season, as the first preseason game this year. It makes no difference to us. We always approach every game the same way. We're obviously confident, like we always are. We're going to enjoy the preparation for it and hopefully enjoy the Final as well.”