For much of the 2010s, the Canadian Women’s National Team carried the Canada Soccer program. In fact, my first match with the Voyageurs occurred nearly 10 years ago in a friendly match against England ahead of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. And yet with all their success on the pitch as a Top 10 FIFA ranked team, there has never been a top division domestic league for our women to develop their skills at home – until now.
2025 marks the beginning of a new era in Canada for professional women’s soccer with the introduction of the Northern Super League. Code named “Project 8” in its early development, the NSL is the brainchild of former CWNT player, Diana Matheson. Having advocated for a domestic professional league for many years, Matheson took it upon herself to develop her own business plan that gained approval from Canada Soccer for the creation of the first ever Canadian Women’s premier division.
The NSL has six founding clubs: Vancouver Rise, Calgary Wild, AFC Toronto, Ottawa Rapid, Montreal Roses, and Halifax Tides. Each team will play 25 matches each over a six-month season from April through October. The league will use the standard points system in world soccer – three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss – while tracking team rankings in a single table where the top four placed teams at the end of the season advance to the playoffs, which will conclude in mid-November.
When it was announced that AFC Toronto would host its inaugural match against the Montreal Roses at BMO Field on April 19, I knew I had to be there for the first 401 Derby of the season. With ticket in hand, I then searched online to find additional info on AFC Toronto’s official supporters’ group, Vermillion Vanguard. They had shared info about a pre-match meet up at Something in the Water Brewery located in the heart of Liberty Village before they would lead a march to the match around 2:30pm EST.
Following the march, we took our seats in the Supporters section where I just took in the atmosphere and pre-match ceremonies. The place was buzzing with a sold-out crowd of 14,518 as the opening whistle blew to kick off AFC Toronto’s inaugural match. Meanwhile, the Vermillion Vanguard found its footing before the group came together in unison with non-stop cheering and chanting in support of our hometown heroines. Sadly, Tonya Boychuk silenced the crowd two minutes into the match by giving Montreal the early 1-0 lead. That’s unfortunately all that it took for AFC Toronto to ultimately lose its first match of the season.
Despite the loss, it was impressive to see such a large turnout for Toronto’s first ever professional women’s soccer team! Kudos to AFC Toronto’s marketing team for generating such a successful public relations campaign for the city to take notice and show up! Hopefully, this continues as AFC Toronto moves to its permanent home pitch at York Lions Stadium in North York moving forward. We shall see!
2025 Northern Super League Season
Match: AFC Toronto vs. Montreal Roses
Stadium: BMO Field – Toronto, ON
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025
Kickoff: 4pm EST
Attendance: 14,518
Score: 1-0 (Montreal Roses)
Scoring Summary: Montreal Roses – Tonya Boycuk (2’)
Disciplinary: Montreal Roses – Charlotte Bilbault
(Yellow Card – 66’)
AFC Toronto Inaugural Starting Lineup
GK Sofia Manner (Finland)
DF Hong Hye-Ji (South Korea)
DF Kaela Hansen (Burnaby, BC)
MF Nikayla Small (Pickering, ON)
MF Emma Regan (Burnaby, BC)
MF Nyota Katembo (Montreal, QC)
MF Cloey Uddenberg (St. Kitts & Nevis)
MF Colby Barnett (USA)
FW Shaina Ashouri (USA)
FW Esther Okoronkwo (Nigeria)
Substitutes: Sierra Cota-Yarde (GK), Ashley Cathro (DF), Sarah Rollins (DF), Croix Soto (DF), Sonia Walk (DF), Aoi Kizaki (MF), April Lantaigne (MF), Ivymae Perez (MF), Kaylee Hunter (FW)
Total Shots: 15; Shots on Goal: 6; Fouls: 8; Offsides: 2; Corner-Kicks: 5; Saves: 1
No comments:
Post a Comment