Toronto battled to the end despite challenging conditions and an early deficit
Toronto, ON (July 18, 2026) – AFC Toronto fell 3-0 to Vancouver Rise FC on Saturday afternoon at York Lions Stadium. Following the loss, Toronto (4-3-4) drops to fourth in the Northern Super League table with 15 points.
Vancouver got on the board early with a goal from Anna Bout. Minutes later, Rise FC doubled their lead off the head of Jessica De Filippo, then added another from Tori Tumeth. Toronto regained their composure and mounted a number of strong challenges, but were ultimately unable to capitalize.
Head coach Marko Milanović on the result: “Incredibly disappointing and difficult game for us. I honestly couldn't tell you why we came out the way we came out, why we were so flat, it’s very uncharacteristic of us. … We're going to obviously look at the film and reevaluate some of the things and we’re going to look into our warmup and look at everything that happened prior to the kickoff. But obviously we weren't ready to play.”
Next, Toronto heads to Quebec to face Montreal Roses FC at Stade Boréale on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. ET.
SIERRA COTA-YARDE: Goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde returned from injury on Saturday, earning her first start since May 3. The 23-year-old Toronto native made four saves.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: AFC Toronto has a 2-0-2 record against Rise FC this season. The two clubs meet one final time this season on October 4 at York Lions Stadium. That match will double as the quarterfinal for the newly announced W Canadian Championship.
UP NEXT: AFC Toronto plays Montreal Roses FC at Stade Boréale on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. ET (Stream on CBC Gem, RDS, and NSL.ca).
MATCH SUMMARY
AFC Toronto - 0 | Vancouver Rise FC - 3
Venue: York Lions Stadium
Referee: Salma Flores-Desrochers
Assistants: Melissa Snedden, Shukwia Tajik
Fourth Official: Mathieu Souaré
Referee Observer: Amato DeLuca
SCORING SUMMARY
Vancouver Rise FC: A. Bout (2’), J. De Filippo (9’), T. Tumeth (11’)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
13’ - Yellow: Maithé López (Vancouver Rise FC)
37’ - Yellow: Nikki Small (AFC Toronto)
82’ - Yellow: Jordan Brewster (AFC Toronto)
90+7’ - Yellow: Nikki Stanton (Vancouver Rise FC)
90+11’ - Yellow: Lauren Rowe (AFC Toronto)
STARTING LINEUP & STATS
AFC Toronto Starting Lineup:
GK Sierra Cota-Yarde (POR)
DF Ashley Cathro (USA)
DF Sarah Rollins (Toronto, ON)
DF Croix Soto (USA)
MF Zoe Burns (USA)
MF April Lantaigne (Ashburn, ON)
|MF Kaila Novak (London, ON)
MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON)
MF Sarah Stratigakis (Woodbridge, ON)
FW Kaylee Hunter (Calgary, AB)
FW Lauren Rowe (Conception Bay South, NL)
Substitutes: Danielle Krzyzaniak (GK), Jordan Brewster (DF), Kaela Hansen (DF), Nyota Katembo (MF), Olivia Chisholm (MF), Linda (MF), Cloey Uddenberg (MF), Mia Fontana (FW), Esther Okoronkwo (FW)
Total Shots: 13
Shots on Goal: 6
Fouls: 11
Offsides: 4
Corner Kicks: 10
Saves: 4
Video Highlights
Media can access video highlights from the match on the Northern Super League YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@NorthernSuperLeague
Match Summary
A complete summary of the match facts and stats can be viewed at: www.nsl.ca/games/2026-07-18-toronto-vancouver
More from the locker room:
Milanović, on the team’s drive to bounce back: “We've had games like this last year, as well. We lost 4-0 to Ottawa here in a similar type of game, with early goals that we conceded, and we bounced back in a phenomenal way in the games after that one. So I'm convinced that we can do it and that we will do it. Thursday night will be a really tough game against Montreal, but we very much look forward to that.”
Milanović, on Esther Okoronkwo and Linda departing the club to represent their respective nations at WAFCON: “I'm thankful that we have a deep roster and other players will get opportunities. That was part of the reason for the Lena (Silano) signing as well, because we're going to lose Kaylee (Hunter) and Olivia Chisholm as well for a month with the U20 World Cup. So yes, it's unfortunate. It's always bittersweet with those things because you want them to do well individually, you want them to represent their national teams, but obviously it hurts us when they're not here.”
Milanović, on the team’s final meeting against Vancouver on October 4, which will double as the clubs’ quarterfinal matchup for the newly announced W Canadian Championship: “We hope to win that competition. Any Cup competition is going to be very exciting. We're really looking forward to that. We would love to represent Canada on the international stage. We already have in World Sevens. So it's definitely an exciting thing to come and we're looking forward to it, but we're not thinking about it right now. The only thing we're thinking about right now is Montreal.”
Captain Nikki Small, on calling a team huddle after the second goal: “Honestly, that wasn't us. And I think calling the girls in (after) that second goal, it was just a chance to come in and just regroup and relax. I think in that moment we were all very frantic and all over the place. So it’s best to come together and just kind of be on the same page again, know our same goals. Obviously we got scored on a couple minutes after, but I think after that we really regrouped and we were able to find our groove a little. It's just unfortunate that we weren't able to finish some of the chances we had and make the game a little closer.”
Small, on the team’s improved second half performance: “I think going into the second half, we just kind of brought more energy coming out of the locker room. I think obviously starting off flat, you could tell the locker room vibe was a little flat going into the game, so that could have been a big factor. But I think coming out in the second half, we all had this collective goal of, like, we need to bring the energy, we need to get one. Unfortunately we didn't get one today, but the energy shift had us coming out a lot harder, a lot stronger, winning our tackles, winning our 50/50s. I think there’s a tale of two halves, and if some of our chances went in, it would've been a different game.”