AFC Toronto blanks Montreal Roses to take 1st leg of NSL semifinal

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Nov 01, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: November 1

AFC Toronto took the archetypal limb of a Northern Super League semifinal with a 2-0 triumph implicit the Montreal Roses connected Saturday.

Nikayla Small struck successful the seventh infinitesimal and Kaylee Hunter successful the 70th for Toronto, which hosts Montreal successful the 2nd limb Nov. 9 astatine York Lions Stadium.

"We're going to look to triumph that crippled arsenic well," Toronto manager Marko Milanovic said. "Nothing truly tin alteration successful presumption of our prep. We've approached it the aforesaid mode from Game 1 successful the pre-season until this crippled close now."

Goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde maintained a blank expanse for Toronto astatine Stade Boréale successful Laval, Que.

"I thought some teams had had their chances. We were fortunate capable to decorativeness 2 of ours and travel distant with the win," Milanovic said.

"Montreal had a fewer chances arsenic good that they could person capitalized. [Sierra Cota-Yarde] had a phenomenal crippled successful goal, and the remainder of our backline besides did truly well, considering it was their archetypal crippled playing unneurotic this year.

"Another happening that I privation to constituent out. We've had truthful galore injuries. It's recognition to our aesculapian squad that did truthful good passim the week to get them ready. I would accidental that they're conscionable arsenic liable for this triumph arsenic each of us."

WATCH | Hunter scores security extremity successful semifinal triumph implicit Roses:

Ottawa Rapid FC and the Vancouver Rise unfastened the different semifinal Tuesday astatine TD Place.

Aggregate winners of the semifinals beforehand to the azygous title lucifer Nov. 15 astatine Toronto's BMO Field wherever the archetypal NSL champion volition beryllium crowned.

Small spun successful beforehand of the Montreal container and got a right-foot changeable distant that bushed Roses keeper Anna Karpenko. Hunter shook disconnected Montreal defender Lucy Cappadona to people connected a debased shot.

"I'm blessed we scored aboriginal due to the fact that the conditions weren't the greatest," Small said. "It was cold, it was windy. The upwind wasn't successful our favour. To get that aboriginal extremity and settee our nerves, it was truly important for america to settee down."

Hunter, 17, ranked 2nd successful scoring successful the NSL's inaugural play with 15 goals down Ottawa's Delaney Pridham (18). Hunter was named rookie of the twelvemonth and precocious attended a Canadian squad campy successful Europe.

Toronto topped the NSL standings successful the league's archetypal play with 16 wins and rode a five-match winning streak into the playoffs nether Milanovic. The Roses snagged the 4th and last playoff berth with a 10-9-6 record.

WATCH | Full lucifer replay: