AFC Toronto’s 2026 regular season campaign came to a close on Monday evening with a 1-1 draw against Halifax Tides FC at BMO Field. Toronto (10-9-6) finishes the season third in the Northern Super League table with 39 points. The club will now face Ottawa Rapid FC in the semifinal of the NSL playoffs.

In the first half, Nikki Small crossed a ball into the box where Kaylee Hunter chested it down and buried it to give Toronto the lead. The goal marked Hunter’s tenth of the year and Small’s third assist. Nearing half time, Halifax leveled the score with a strike from Saorla Miller. Back-and-forth action continued through the second half but neither side could find the decider, ending the match in a draw.

“We used this game to prepare for what’s coming up and that was our main priority,” said head coach Marko Milanović. “Obviously you want to win every game that you play, especially when you play in front of your fans. We came up a little short, it’s another draw. … We are where we are, but we have to look ahead and obviously the biggest game is now on Saturday.”

AFC Toronto will now face Ottawa Rapid FC in a two-leg semifinal, beginning at home this weekend. The first leg is scheduled for Saturday, October 31 at 2 p.m. ET at York Lions Stadium, while the second leg will take place on Saturday, November 7 at 2 p.m. ET at TD Place. Both matches are available on CBC.

Post-Match Notes

• Kaylee Hunter: Hunter finishes the season with ten goals, tying her with Ottawa’s D.B. Pridham for third in the Golden Boot race. The 18-year-old striker is atop the league in total shots (82) and shots on target (30) this season.
• Nikki Small: Captain Nikki Small had an assist and eight tackles on Monday. Small finishes the season with a league-leading 124 tackles, the only player to reach a triple-digit figure.
• Zoe Hasenauer: Hasenauer made her first start for AFC Toronto on Monday night. “It was exciting to get to be on the field the whole time,” she said. “I think it’s been easy coming into the team and the girls have helped me get up to speed really quickly.”
• Lauren Rowe: Rowe finishes the season fifth in scoring league-wide with eight goals.
• Iron Woman: Defender Sarah Rollins has played every minute of every game so far this season for Toronto, totalling 2,250 minutes.
• League’s Best Defence: Toronto finishes the regular season tied with Halifax for the fewest goals against this season, with just 24 conceded in 25 matches.

Match Summary

AFC Toronto 1, Halifax Tides FC 1 – BMO Field. Scoring: AFC Toronto – K. Hunter (28′); Halifax Tides FC – S. Miller (44′). Toronto finished with 19 total shots, six on goal, 12 corner kicks and four saves.

“I thought we played really well in the first half, I would say one of our better halves this year,” Milanović added. “Conceded that goal at the end, it was a great strike. But we should have been up comfortably in the first half, I thought, with the amount of chances that we created.”

“We take what lessons we had in the second half and bring them into the playoffs,” Hasenauer said.

On facing Ottawa, Milanović said: “Ottawa is a very good attacking team. We’re going to have to be very organised and good defensively.”

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