Okoronkwo nets three goals, Toronto slips past Montreal to advance to NSL Final

TORONTO — Esther Okoronkwo’s goal of making it to the Northern Super League inaugural championship game has been achieved.

The 28-year-old attacker scored three times in the first 26 minutes of Monday’s semifinal match at snow-covered York Lions Stadium and the regular-season champion AFC Toronto defeated the visiting Montreal Roses 4-1, taking the two-leg aggregate 6-1.

Lauren Rowe added a fourth goal for Toronto in the 83rd minute.

Tanya Boychuk scored for the Roses in the 74th minute.

Toronto will face the Vancouver Rise in Saturday’s NSL Final at BMO Field. Vancouver defeated Ottawa 5-4 on penalties after their two-leg semifinal series ended tied 3-3 on aggregate.

The second game of the Toronto-Montreal series was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but had to be delayed a day due to inclement weather and significant snowfall in the Toronto area.

Okoronkwo, who had eight goals and eight assists over 1,486 minutes of action during the regular season, scored in the seventh minute on Monday, then added her second 13 minutes later. She completed the hat trick with a goal in the 26th minute. After that the Roses didn’t have a snowball’s chance of upsetting the hosts.

“It was a complete team effort. The work up top from (Kaylee Hunter), alongside Esther, was incredibleuntil she came off and she was the one who set up that first goal as well,” said Toronto coach Marko Milanović.

“As for Esther, we know what she’s capable of. She’s a big-time player who always delivers in big moments — we saw it at the Africa Cup of Nations, and now again in this semifinal. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in the final, too.”

Midfielder Nikki Small said the game plan for playing in the snow was to keep it simple.

“Kick it out, no nonsense. You couldn’t really dribble as the ball would stop or slide with the snow,” said Small. “Everyone was slipping all over the place, so it was about adapting fast, playing direct, and doing what needed to be done.”

Toronto won the first game of the semifinal 2-0 at Stade Boreale in Montreal on Nov. 1. Small and Hunter scored for the visitors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2025.