Esther Okoronkwo’s eighth of the season keeps her among league’s top scorers
Toronto, ON (September 21, 2025) – AFC Toronto and Halifax Tides FC played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at York Lions Stadium, as both sides exchanged first-half goals in a tightly contested match.
Halifax struck first in the 27th minute when a misplay in the backline allowed the ball to trickle past goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde and into the net.
The answer came just ten minutes later, when AFC was awarded the club’s first-ever penalty kick. Esther Okoronkwo stepped up with confidence, using a stutter-step run-up before burying her shot into the corner to level the match. The strike marked Okoronkwo’s eighth of the season, further solidifying her role as one of Toronto’s most consistent attacking threats.
Despite sustained pressure on both ends, neither side could find a breakthrough, leaving the points split.
Head coach Marko Milanovic: “We had some ideas how to break [Halifax’s organization] down, but we didn't always execute. Even the final ball was a little off or the timing of the run wasn't as good as it could have been. It's definitely a lesson for us – if we consider ourselves a top team, we think a lot more teams will come here and play that way… We expected a top game where we knew that it wasn't gonna be easy and that's what we got.”
Next, AFC Toronto goes to the nation’s capitol to take on Ottawa Rapid FC at TD Place Stadium on Friday, September 26 at 7 p.m. ET.
ESTHER OKORONKWO: Buried AFC’s first-ever penalty kick for her eighth goal of the year, keeping her tied for third among the league’s top scorers.
SERIES COMPLETE: Toronto finishes its five-game season series against Halifax unbeaten, posting a 4-0-1 record.
UP NEXT: AFC Toronto faces Ottawa Rapid FC at TD Place Stadium on Friday, September 26 at 7 p.m. ET (Stream on TSN+ and NSL.ca; US Streaming on ESPN+).
MATCH SUMMARY
AFC Toronto - 1 | Halifax Tides FC - 1
Venue: York Lions Stadium
Referee: Salma Flores-Desrochers
Assistants: Camille Raymond, Victoria Lafortune
Fourth Official: Amanda Kwan
Referee Observer: Justin Tasev
SCORING SUMMARY
AFC Toronto: Esther Okoronkwo (38’)
Halifax Tides FC: Tiffany Cameron (27’)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
8’ - Yellow: Sara Olai (Halifax Tides FC)
62’ - Yellow: Addison Weichers (Halifax Tides FC)
STARTING LINEUP & STATS
AFC Toronto Starting Lineup:
GK Sierra Cota-Yarde (Toronto, ON)
DF Kaela Hansen (Burnaby, BC), DF Croix Soto (USA), DF Sarah Rollins (Toronto, ON), DF Zoe Burns (CAN)
MF Sarah Stratigakis (Toronto, ON), MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON), MF Emma Regan (Burnaby, BC), MF Colby Barnett (USA)
FW Kaylee Hunter (Calgary, AB), FW Esther Okoronkwo (Nigeria)
Substitutes: Danielle Krzyzaniak (GK), Ashley Cathro (DF), Hong Hye-Ji (DF), Aoi Kizaki (MF), April Lantaigne (MF), Nyota Katembo (MF), Cloey Uddenberg (MF), Victoria Pickett (MF), Jade Kovacevic (FW)
Total Shots: 11
Shots on Goal: 5
Fouls: 8
Offsides: 2
Corner-Kicks: 2
Saves: 2
Video Highlights of Opening Game
Media can access video highlights from the opening 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-halifax-2025-09-21
More from the locker room:
Captain Emma Regan: “As you're probably tired of hearing from us, every game is the same and we treat it the same. We've talked a lot recently about peaking at the right time and us going into these last couple games in very good form. There's been ups and downs through the whole season, but we've been kind of steadily moving our way up.”
Milanovic on consistency through the rest of the season: “In our environment, we preach [consistency] daily in training. It's one of the things that's part of our identity that every time we step on the field, all the controllables are taken care of… The result is not always the same but, but those things – your mentality, your work, create your attitude – things that you can control are something that we ask of players every single day.”
Milanovic on areas of improvement: “It's getting little marginal improvements in all areas that’s something that we try to do every week. Whether it's attacking or defending in transition or whether it's set pieces – we put a huge emphasis on set pieces because we haven't scored too many this year. That's something that maybe we emphasize a little more than the other areas, but we try to make those marginal gains weekly.”
Goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde: “As a goalkeeper, there's only one person who gets to play and you don't really get to sub in. You always have to be ready and mentally prepare yourself to play. Kudos to Rasih [Pala], our goalkeeper coach, who does a really good job at everyone getting the same type of rep. We're all prepared to play whenever called upon.”
Regan on her Iron Streak: “It's always a privilege to play. I am always happy when I'm fit and able to do that for the team. It's about how I can contribute week in and week out and do my job. As long as I can continue to do that and stay healthy, I'm gonna do that for this team every week.”
