AFC Toronto will now face Ottawa Rapid FC in a two-leg semifinal, beginning Saturday at York Lions Stadium
Toronto, ON (October 27, 2026) – AFC Toronto’s 2026 regular season campaign came to a close on Monday evening with a 1-1 draw against Halifax Tides FC at BMO Field. Toronto (10-9-6) finishes the season third in the Northern Super League table with 39 points. The club will now face Ottawa Rapid FC in the semifinal of the NSL playoffs.
In the first half, Nikki Small crossed a ball into the box where Kaylee Hunter chested it down and buried it to give Toronto the lead. The goal marked Hunter’s tenth of the year and Small’s third assist. Nearing half time, Halifax leveled the score with a strike from Saorla Miller. Back-and-forth action continued through the second half but neither side could find the decider, ending the match in a draw.
“We used this game to prepare for what's coming up and that was our main priority,” said head coach Marko Milanović. “Obviously you want to win every game that you play, especially when you play in front of your fans. We came up a little short, it's another draw. … We are where we are, but we have to look ahead and obviously the biggest game is now on Saturday.”
AFC Toronto will now face Ottawa Rapid FC in a two-leg semifinal, beginning at home this weekend. The first leg is scheduled for Saturday, October 31 at 2 p.m. ET at York Lions Stadium, while the second leg will take place on Saturday, November 7 at 2 p.m. ET at TD Place.
KAYLEE HUNTER: Kaylee Hunter finishes the season with ten goals, tying her with Ottawa’s D.B. Pridham for third in the Golden Boot race. The 18-year-old striker also tallied a goal in extra time of the club’s W Canadian Championship quarterfinal. Hunter is atop the league in total shots (82) and shots on target (30) this season.
NIKKI SMALL: Captain Nikki Small had an assist and eight tackles on Monday. Small finishes the season with a league-leading 124 tackles, the only player to reach a triple-digit figure.
ZOE HASENAUER: Zoe Hasenauer made her first start for AFC Toronto on Monday night.
LAUREN ROWE: Lauren Rowe finishes the season fifth in scoring league-wide with eight goals.
IRON WOMAN: Defender Sarah Rollins has played every minute of every game so far this season for Toronto, totalling 2250 minutes.
LEAGUE’S BEST DEFENCE: Toronto finishes the regular season tied with Halifax for the fewest goals against this season, with just 24 conceded in 25 matches.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Toronto finishes the season series against Halifax with a 2-3-0 record. The club is undefeated against Tides FC all-time, with a 6-4-0 record.
UP NEXT: AFC Toronto kicks off its two-leg semifinal against Ottawa Rapid FC at York Lions Stadium on Saturday, October 31 at 2 p.m. ET (Available on CBC).
MATCH SUMMARY
AFC Toronto - 1 | Halifax Tides FC - 1
Venue: BMO Field
Referee: Salma Flores-Desrochers
Assistants: Vasyl Dzikh, Natalie Berry
Fourth Official: Yusri Rudolf
Referee Observer: Peter Pendli
SCORING SUMMARY
AFC Toronto: K. Hunter (28’)
Halifax Tides FC: S. Miller (44’)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
None
STARTING LINEUP & STATS
AFC Toronto Starting Lineup:
GK Sabrina D’Angelo (Welland, ON)
DF Colby Barnett (USA)
DF Sarah Rollins (Toronto, ON)
DF Ashley Cathro (Victoria, BC)
MF Zoe Hasenauer (USA)
MF April Lantaigne (Ajax, ON)
MF Lauren Rowe (Conception Bay South, NL)
MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON)
MF Sarah Stratigakis (Toronto, ON)
FW Kaylee Hunter (Calgary, AB)
FW Lena Silano (USA)
Substitutes: Danielle Krzyzaniak (GK), Jasmine Vilgrain (DF), Croix Soto (DF), Nyota Katembo (MF), Olivia Chisholm (MF), Cloey Uddenberg (MF), Mia Fontana (FW), Kaila Novak (FW)
Total Shots: 19
Shots on Goal: 6
Fouls: 7
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 12
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/2026-10-26-toronto-halifax
More from the locker room:
Marko Milanović, on the match: “I thought we played really well in the first half, I would say one of our better halves this year. Conceded that goal at the end, it was a great strike. But we should have been up comfortably in the first half, I thought, with the amount of chances that we created. Second half was a bit different. They started moving a little bit. Midfield started rolling out wide and it created some problems for us in terms of matching up on the press. I thought we fixed that for about 10, 15 minutes, but after that when they started playing very direct towards the end of the game, I thought they won more battles than us all over the pitch. So that last 15, 20 minutes was just long ball one way, long ball the other way, soccer wasn't that pretty. But they won more battles and as a result they were inside our half a little bit more and had some chances.”
Zoe Hasenauer, on the match: “I think that we were using this game as kind of something to set us up for next week. And I think that we did that really well in the first half and then we take what lessons we had in the second half and bring them into the playoffs.”
Zoe Hasenauer, on her first start: “It was exciting to get to be on the field the whole time. I thought that I did well. I think it's been easy coming into the team and the girls have helped me get up to speed really quickly and I'm just trying to put my best foot forward out there, do whatever I can for the squad.”
Milanović, on Hasenauer’s first start: “I thought she was one of our best players tonight. Impactful defensively and offensively. I thought she was very calm on the ball, connected a lot of passes, but also was impactful defensively, and that's part of the reason why she's sitting here.”
Colby Barnett, on Sarah Rollins being one of the league’s sole iron women this season: “She's such a hard worker on and off the ball, and it's nice playing around her because she is so clutch in those 1v1 one moments. I am always very confident when I have her next to me or behind me or wherever she may be. She was helpful also directing me because this is a newer position for me. So her communication was also really helpful.”
Milanović, on the club’s wealth of young talent: “We think we have the best young players in the league, the most exciting players that will make significant moves in the future. Something we're definitely very proud of and something that we'll try to continue to do. Part of it is obviously identifying young talent and then working with them, but also giving them an opportunity to play. You mentioned Rollins played every minute this year. She's a 2005 centre-back and that doesn't happen too often in most leagues. So we will always give opportunities to players that show promise and she's someone that we knew from last year that was going to be great. So all credit to her.”
Milanović, on facing Ottawa in the semifinal: “Ottawa is a very good attacking team. We're going to have to be very organised and good defensively. We played them really well the last couple of times.”