Led by braces from Kaylee Hunter and Esther Okoronkwo, AFC Toronto are through to the Northern Super League playoffs with the biggest win in the league this season

Toronto, ON (September 13, 2025) – AFC Toronto became the first NSL club to clinch a spot in the playoffs with a commanding 7-0 defeat of Vancouver Rise FC on Saturday afternoon at York Lions Stadium. With the win, Toronto end Vancouver’s eight-game unbeaten streak and extend their lead atop the Northern Super League table with 41 points and a 13-2-6 record.

Esther Okoronkwo opened the scoring for AFC Toronto six minutes in with a powerful strike on a free kick at the edge of the box, earning her sixth of the year. Nearing half time, Kaylee Hunter doubled Toronto’s lead with a slick move to cut into the box and bury it bottom corner, earning her 11th this season. Toronto added one more before the half was up, as Kaela Hansen tipped the ball in net-front off a corner kick for her first NSL goal. It was the first goal for Toronto directly off a corner kick this season.

Early in the second half, Toronto took a 4-0 lead as Sarah Stratigakis headed in a clean cross from Zoe Burns for her first NSL goal. Okoronkwo completed her brace with a breakaway goal off a pass from Aoi Kizaki, who had just come off the bench. The Nigerian striker now has seven on the year, climbing to fourth in the league in goalscoring.

Minutes later, Stratigakis played a through ball to Hunter on the right who completed her own brace with a sharp-angle shot, earning her 12th of the year. She now sits four goals back from the lead in the Golden Boot race. With five minutes left, Jade Kovacevic completed Toronto’s record-breaking win with her first NSL goal, striking one in near the top of the box.

Assistant Coach Sylvia Forbes on the win: “We really enjoyed the game today. Obviously we’ve been working on a lot of stuff this season, and to see it all come to fruition this afternoon in front of our home crowd that has been supporting us along the way, it was a really good feeling … now our eyes are set forward onto the next challenge, which is finishing out the season on a high note.”

“For us, this is how we think that we should have been playing all year,” said captain Emma Regan, on the team’s performance. “So it’s not really a shock to me that we’re starting to put the pieces together. This is how we wanna play, this is how we wanna play going into playoffs, so I think we’re peaking at the right time, we feel really good.”

Next weekend, AFC Toronto host Halifax Tides FC at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, September 21st at 2 pm ET for the final meeting between the two clubs this season.

SIERRA COTA-YARDE: Cota-Yarde and AFC Toronto have not conceded a goal in three consecutive matches, with Toronto’s goalkeeper earning her fifth clean sheet of the season on Saturday.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: AFC Toronto now lead the league with 36 goals for and a +15 goal differential.

BRACE YOURSELF: Esther Okoronkwo and Kaylee Hunter both scored two goals for Toronto’s first multi-brace game of the season. Hunter closes the gap on the Golden Boot race with 12, while Okoronkwo’s seven secures her sole possession of fourth in goalscoring.

UP NEXT: AFC Toronto host Halifax Tides FC on Sunday, September 21st at 2 pm ET (Stream on TSN+ and NSL.ca; US Streaming on ESPN+).

MATCH SUMMARY
AFC Toronto - 7 Vancouver Rise FC - 0

Venue: York Lions Stadium
Referee: Angelina Baldino
Assistants: Camille Raymond, Amanda Kwan
Fourth Official: Kelsey Carrothers
Referee Observer: Alexis Vaughn
Attendance: 2,917

SCORING SUMMARY
AFC Toronto: E. Okoronkwo (6’, 65’), K. Hunter (45’, 69’), K. Hansen (45+5’), S. Stratigakis (50’), J. Kovacevic (86’)

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
10’ - Yellow: Jessica De Filippo (Vancouver Rise FC)
17’ - Yellow: Jaylyn Wright (Vancouver Rise FC)
27’ - Yellow: Nikayla Small (AFC Toronto)
38’ - Yellow: Jessika Cowart (Vancouver Rise FC)
39’ - Yellow: Latifah Abdu (Vancouver Rise FC)
45+6’ - Red: Jessica De Filippo (Vancouver Rise FC)
88’ - Yellow: Rebecca Lake (Vancouver Rise FC)

STARTING LINEUP & STATS
AFC Toronto Starting Lineup:

GK Sierra Cota-Yarde (Toronto, ON)
DF Croix Soto (USA)
DF Sarah Rollins (Toronto, ON)
DF Kaela Hansen (Burnaby, BC)
DF Zoe Burns (CAN)
MF Emma Regan (Burnaby, BC)
MF Colby Barnett (USA)
MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON)
MF Sarah Stratigakis (Toronto, ON)
FW Kaylee Hunter (Calgary, AB)
FW Esther Okoronkwo (NGA)

Substitutes: Danielle Krzyzaniak (GK), Ashley Cathro (DF), Hong Hye-Ji (DF), Nyota Katembo (MF), Victoria Pickett (MF), April Lantaigne (MF), Cloey Uddenberg (MF), Aoi Kizaki (MF), Jade Kovacevic (FW)

Total Shots: 28
Shots on Goal: 16
Fouls: 11
Offsides: 6
Corner-Kicks: 6
Saves: 1

Video Highlights of Game
Media can access video highlights from the match on the Northern Super League YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NorthernSuperLeague 

Match Summary

A complete summary of the match facts and stats can be viewed at:
https://www.nsl.ca/games/toronto-vancouver-2025-09-13

More from the locker room:

“The back line has been really good as of late,” Forbes said, of the team’s defensive success. “They’ve been working hard in training. Sometimes you hear defenders say they take the brunt of that type of stuff through games and training, because those little details are so important when you have tight games. So their focus and their determination to take on the information that we’ve been giving them has been really good. They’ve come together as a group, the whole set of defenders … clean sheets are great, right?”

Regan on Toronto scoring directly off a corner kick: “We really wanted to get that one for Sylvia. She’s been amazing coming up with different set pieces for us, down to the detail every week. And finally we put one in off a set piece for her. We honestly are so thankful for all the staff, but Sylvia in particular on those set pieces. We know she puts a lot of work into that.”

Jade Kovacevic on her first goal: “It feels really good. I think like Emma said, it was us peaking at the right moments. To be able to get myself on the game sheet today, it’s a part of how training has gone for me week over week. It feels really good for me to see that product come out in a game.”

Forbes on Kovacevic’s unselfish gameplay, passing the ball in an opportunity where she could have scored: “That speaks volumes to Jade’s character as a player. She’s a footballer, a striker, which at any given point a striker can’t be called selfish, right? So for her to do that, it shows her character, it shows how she values the team. She shows that week in and week out in training … It just speaks to how she is as a person and player.”