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Result and details of the Saturday April 19, 2025 Northern Super League game between AFC Toronto and Montreal Roses played
at BMO Field in Toronto at 4:00pm.
AFC Toronto (all maroon uniforms, white names and numbers, vermillion trim)
.....................1 Sofia Manner
......22 Cloey Uddenberg..3 Hye-Ji Hong...6 Kaela Hansen
31 Colby Barnett...8 Emma Regan (cpt)...94 Victoria Pickett...17 Nyota Katembo
.........23 Esther Okoronkwo...4 Nikayla Small...12 Shaina Ashouri
Subs:...21 Sierra Cota-Yarde (gk)...2 April Lantaigne (mid)...5 Croix Soto (def)...11 Kaylee Hunter (fwd)
...13 Aoi Kizaki (mid)...14 Sarah Rollins (def)...18 Ivymae Perez (mid)...19 Ashley Cathro (def)...20 Sonia Walk (def)
team officials:...head coach Mako Milanovic...assistant coach Sylvia Forbes...goalkeeper coach Rasih Pala
...athletic trainer Maddie Gonzalez...doctor Dev Aulakh...physical trainers Kia Halsall anda Karla Leong
...other official Keyosha Donkor
Montreal Roses FC (white socks and shirts, blue shorts, black names and numbers)
.....................1 Anna Karpenko
3 Hailey Whitaker...2 Lucy Cappadona...5 Julia Leas...17 Jodi Smith
..........7 Noemi Paquin...6 Allie Hess...18 Charlotte Bilbault
.........20 Megane Sauve (cpt)...99 Latifah Abdu...12 Tanya Boychuk
Subs:...26 Gabrielle Lambert (gk)...4 Stephanie Hill (def)...8 Mara Bouchard (mid)...14 Claire Monyard (mid)
...19 Lorie Thibault (mid)...21 Mathilde Lachance (def)...23 Felicia Roy (mid)
team officials:...head coach Robert Rositoiu...assistant coach Antoine Guldner...goalkeeper coach Maryse Bard-Martel
...athletic trainer Yannick Girard...physiotherapist Christine Theriault-Loranger...other Mathilde Lefebvre Lalande
Game officials:...referee Carly Shaw-MacLaren...referees Gabrielle Lemieux and Melissa Snedden
...fourth official Isabelle Duclos...(black socks and shorts, teal shirts)
First Half:...game starts 4:08pm...AFC defends north end.
1 min...Roses Tanya Boychuk GOAL...AFC Nyota Katembo tries to backpass to AFC Cloey Uddenberg but Boychuk
runs forward and intercepts at 20 yard line on slight left and shoots low to right corner of net beyond diving
goalie Sofia Manner.
3 min...AFC Barnett cornerkick from right has goalie step forward in crowd of players and punch forward from 12 yards.
4 min...MR Hess 33 yard freekick from left is over players and caught by goalie.
7 min...AFC player's 35 yard freekick from left is headed away by defender at 20 yards.
8 min...MR Abdu run in up right wing has shot from far right from 15 yards on 4 yard line that goalie on near post palms ball
overhead wide right.
9 min...MR Sauve cornerkick is a low cross from the right that bounced into the outside mesh of the net.
10 min...AFC goalie leaps at 8 yards to catch a bouncer into the box.
11 min...AFC Okoronkwo outmuscles MR Leas for ball on rush down right and crosses low through MR box but no one is there.
AFC Barnett follows up with a shot from 15 yards on left that's well over net.
13 min...MR Abdu 20 yard low shot from slight right is wide left of net.
15 min...AFC goalie rushes to right side of box to beat MR Abdu to through ball chipped pass.
15 min...AFC Barnett rushes down left and 28 yard shot from along 5 yard line is behind net.
19 min...MR Sauve low cross from left into box but defender clears at 12 yards.
21 min...AFC Hong throw-in to MR box but defender clears.
23 min...AFC Katembo low cross from 12 yards has AFC Pickett first-touch ball at 15 yards that rolls to MR goalie.
23 min...MR goalie out to 30 yards in middle to clear through ball bouncer.
25 min...AFC player can't get to long pass before it crosses over end line on left.
26 min...AFC Small cross on left end line has AFC Ashouri head 7 yarder just wide of top right corner of net.
29 min...AFC Regan 25 yard low shot from right has goalie dive to smother left of net on deflection.
31 min...MR goalie is injured anda needs trainer. Players on both teams huddle for strategy meeting. AFC players then run
to the sidelines for pep talk and water.
35 min...AFC Barnett throw-in from left has defenders clear on left side of box.
36 min...AFC Barnett cornerkick from left has MR Sauve head ball away at 10 yards on left.
37 min...AFC Uddenberg makes big sliding stop to prevent a 2 v 1 in AFC box.
38 min...AAFC Okoronkwo run to right end line and low cross from 15 yards is smothered by goalie on near post.
39 min...AFC player's forward pass on left is rolled over end line.
40 min...AFC Okoronkwo is injured on tackle winning freekick at MR 35 yard line in middle.
41 min...AFC Barnett chips 35 yard freekick down middle directly for goalie to catch.
47 min...half ends 4:55pm.
Halftime: On the field The Hitmen do some soccer tricks while a marching band dressed in Desjardins Insurance colours
surround the center circle.
Inside the press box Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue and CWNT head coach Casey Stoney give a surprise Q & A. (recording
is in my other post). Biggest news is that the CWNT will play a few more home games this year. [Late edit: Tuesday it was
announced they will play Haiti in Winnipeg then Montreal].
Second Half:...starts 5:12pm.
45 min...AFC Small turns and shoots 15 yard roller from left that goalie smothers on near post.
46 min...AFC Okoronkwo is injured downfield but picks herself up as play carries on.
47 min...AFC Regan is touched back pass and hits bar on 18 yard shot from right. AFC Barnett shanks rebound from 12 yards
on left high and wide left.
49 min...MR player chips shot from 25 yards that bounces wide right but wins cornerkick.
50 min...MR Abdu cornerkick from right has MR Sauve head from left to center of box and MR Paquin shoots over net from 15 yards.
52 min...AFC Small checks MR Leas with help of AFC Ashouri on other side at MR 40 yard line. Small rolls pass forward to charging
AFC Okoronkwo 15 yards but goalie slides out to make point blank stop with Okoronkwo tumbling over her. The ball rolls out
to 20 yards and AFC Regan blasts shot that goalie who's stood back up again slides to bat to right and charges back to 7 yards to dive
on ball but MR Smith clears over to right side.
54 min...AFC player sends in cornerkick from right that off balance AFC Okoronkwo on right wide left sends forward from 10 yards.
58 min...MR Abdu rush to near right corner flag and rolls centering pass which defenders clear.
60 min...AFC sub...Hunter replaces Katembo.
60 min...AFC Okoronkwo is down injured at MR 30 yard line and needs trainer when play finally stops. MR Cappadona
had crunched her in back as she leapt for header.
63 min...MR sub...Monyard replaces Abdu.
64 min...AFC Pickett is injured at MR 50 yard line but has teammate help her so she doesn't have to leave field.
66 min...MR YELLOW card Bilbault earns it for sliding check near center line on AFC Pickett.
67 min...MR goalie clears off defender in box but recovers to clear on second attempt.
68 min...AFC Barnett 28 yard freekick on far right hass goalie at 2 yards in crowd on left side of net palm ball through box.
69 min...AFC Ashouri is injured at MR 20 yard right sideline anad needs trainer.
71 min...AFC Barnett rolls ball into MR box from right but it's cleared.
72 min...MR goalie beats AFC Barnett to pick up ball on right near end line.
73 min...AFC Hunter has shot blocked at 20 yards.
74 min...AFC Barnett cornerkick from right has AFC Ashouri head 6 yarder forward and wide left.
75 min...MR Sauve cross over 6 yard box has MR Hess rescue it with kick pop up on line but goalie catches it.
76 min...The sun which had been blocked by the stadium's west side is now bright in the northwest but it doesn't cast much shadow
on the field.
78 min...AFC Small on right end line chips cross from 15 yards that leaping AFC Hunter between two defenders and heads ball
that deflects off a defenders head and goalie picks up on bounce wide left of the net. MR Cappadona is injured in collision on that
header and needs trainer.
79 min...AFC sub...Kizaki replaces Okoronkwo.
...........MR sub...Thibault replaces Paquin.
...........MR sub...Lachance replaces Whitaker.
81 min...AFC Pickett runs into MR box but goalie smothers ball at 4 yard line.
84 min...AFC Hansen is injured in own box and needs trainer for foot injury.
86 min...MR goalie is out to edge of box to pick up through ball.
87 min...MR sub...Hill replaces Boychuk.
88 min...AFC Small high cross into box from right is stopped at 12 yard on end line near right edge of 18 yard box is stopped
by MR Bilbault at 12 yard line on slight right side of box and punts away high clearance.
90 min...AFC Hunter pops up header at 8 yards on cross from right end line and MR goalie catches.
91 min...AFC Barnett cross from left is into box and AFC Ashouri one-touches 12 yarder midair shot and goalie pushes ball
upwards near right post and catches on bounce.
95 min...AFC Small at 25 yards rolls ball forward on right for charging AFC Hunter charges to 10 yards and goalie dives out
to make point blank save. Hunter who had fallen over her got ball between her legs as she got up and while she tried
to figure out how to get past retreating defenders, goalie behind her dived back to smother ball at 3 yard line on right.
96 min...game ends 6:03pm.
Final Score:......AFC Toronto.......0......Montreal Roses.......1.......
Attendance was announced 14518 which was a sellout of the lower deck. The sellout was announced two days earlier. Great for them but because they only sold out so recently there was no effort to put on sale the upper deck which would have put capacity somewhere over 30000. That would have meant more ushers, food handlers, security etc would need to be hired. Also today was just to get that 'sellout' headline as the team will play the remainder of their games at York Lions Stadium in North York which has a capacity of only 4000.
This was actually the second game ever held in the Northern Super League. The first was on Wednesday night in Vancouver when Vancouver Rise FC beat Calgary Wild FC 1-0 with Toronto born Quinn scoring the only goal on a Penalty kick. Attendance was 14018 so Toronto can say they hold the attendance record for the largest crowd for this year. The Vancouver game was held at BC Place and I don't know if there were crowd limits on that game. The Rise will play the rest of their home games at a more modest Swangard Stadium. BC Place has a soccer configuration for the MLS Whitecaps of 22120 in their 54500 event capacity. Montreal scored just after one minute had been played on an intercepted backpass. Well that gave AFC almost 90 minutes to make a comeback but they couldn't do it. Roses goalie Anna Karpenko earned the shutout stopping six shots on target. Roses were only able to get one other shot on target the entire game. AFC's first ever player signing, Jade Kovacevic didn't play today and someone said she was wearing a cast on her foot. That should be even more firepower some time in the future. An answer given at the press conference later was that forward Kaylee Hunter may be a starter for their next game. Pregame ceremonies included six members of the Toronto Sceptres hockey team with Carly Jackson beating on a big drum and the others doing the Viking clap. An indigigenous woman welcomed us and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow gave a welcoming speech for the teams and Olympic athlete Andre De Grasse who is also a minority share team owner of AFC brought out the game ball. Canada's Got Talent host Lindsay Ell sang 'O Canada'. Some of the songs the fans sang at the game sounded very familiar. "Ohhh AFC Toronto" to the tune of the White Stripes song 'Seven Nation Army' If you don't know that fill in the words "Ooh Sebastian Giovinco". "Oh when the Reds go marching in" is what Toronto FC have been using since they started playing in 2007. "C'mon you GIRLS in Red" is just one word different. The tribal drums were playing the entire game and sounded great! I wonder if they will come up to York Lions Stadium? Sometime while the game was in progress, my FotMob app asked me if I wanted to follow the 'Northern Super League - Canada' and I of course clicked 'Yes'. That is huge and hadn't been displayed up to that moment (like first game Wednesday) but this site displays game results, schedules, standings, and players names for hundreds of men's and women's leagues around the world. Today the site was just 'spinning' and displaying a transmission error connection message but it does show promise. [Late edit--it shows Saturday's game upcoming but not Thursday's game]. All fans were given a scarf for the game. It had the AFC Toronto logo and name in their maroon and vermillion colours on one side but green and white on the other for the company Desjardins Insurance who are a team and league sponsor. I am a season seat holder but I wasn't going to risk going through a fan entrance gate as I might not be able to get into the media gate. My SSH scarf that I picked up Wednesday after work is similar but on the back it has the message 'Run It Our Way' in the team colours. The Canadian Premier League was having a triple header competing with this game but local team York United FC are out of town for one of these games. League1 Ontario has games going on in their Women's Division today with Vaughan Azzurri hosting Woodbridge Strikers so that may have limited some fans from coming. Montreal Roses goalie Anna Karpenko played for Vaughan last season. I saw some fans wearing Simcoe County Rovers scarves as I waited to go through the entrance. They would be missing the SCR Womens and Mens team season debut up in Barrie today to be here but maybe the lure of seeing the first home game for AFC Toronto was too much for them to miss or they were friends and relatives of AFC midfielder Cloey Uddenberg who last season played for Rovers. I had never received confirmation that I was accepted for Media Credentials before the game although I'd received press releases from their first day and had applied before they'd set up an official online registration form. Suddenly I found it but it was hidden behind another few menus so I thought I might be too late. Ok I'm in today, with instructions that I was to take my seat in the asssigned place...except there was no seat chart...a free for all and I was there so early I should have sat in the first, not second row, as the first row media opened their windows which restricted the view of those behind them. Second row meant I could look up at the giant display screen of the TSN broadcaster of the game and see something I'd missed on about a six second delay basis. AFC did a steady merc business today with me being told the team had almost sold out of stuff and that was at the time I was just going up the elevator at the beginning of the game! They only released the numbers that their players were wearing today so there's been no opportunity for jersey customization. I'll expect I'll ask for my own name be ironed on eventually like I do for my York United FC collection!
Toronto Sceptres Carly Jackson beats a big drum while some other Sceptres complete the Viking clap.
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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow welcomes everyone to the game.......Olympian and AFC partial owner Andre De Grasse delivers the game ball.
AFC Toronto starters
Montreal Roses starters
Roses Noemi Paquin (7) takes opening kickoff.
Showing the sell out (lower bowl) crowd.
Roses Jodi Smith (17) takes throw-in.
AFC Esther Okoronkwo (23) takes second half kickoff.
Awaiting an AFC cornerkick.
Handshakes after the game.
The Roses had their fans.
April 19, 2025...AFC Toronto vs Montreal Roses game stats (from nsl.ca)
Match Stats
Toronto Montreal
Possession Percentage 59 % 41 %
Total Shots 16 4
On Target Shot 6 2
Blocked Shots 4 0
Total Passes 404 283
Accurate Passes 308 178
Corners Taken 5 2
Total Crosses 0 0
Offsides 2 2
Aerial Duels Won 0 0
Saves 1 6
Clearances 15 40
Yellow Cards 0 1
Red Cards 0 0
Match facts
Stadium BMO Field
Referee Carly Marissa Shaw-MacLaren
Assistant referees Gabrielle Lemieux and Melissa Snedden
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