AFC Toronto opened their playoff run with a statement on Saturday afternoon, beating Ottawa Rapid FC 4-2 at York Lions Stadium in the first leg of the Northern Super League semifinal. Kaylee Hunter scored twice and added an assist, April Lantaigne scored the first goal of her professional career, Lena Silano added a goal and an assist, and goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo saved a penalty and recorded her first NSL assist as Toronto built a two goal aggregate lead in the Battle of Ontario.

The win came at the end of a week that had already brought an honor to the club, with head coach Marko Milanović named the 2026 NSL Coach of the Year earlier this week. His team played like it on Saturday, finishing with 22 shots, 11 of them on goal.

The Stage

It was the Battle of Ontario with a place in the Northern Super League final on the line, and Toronto treated the home leg like a game they intended to settle early. The home support arrived in voice, and the team walked out into a playoff atmosphere at York Lions Stadium.

Toronto Strike First

Toronto pressed from the opening minutes, and the first goal arrived in the 11th minute. Hunter took control of a ball inside the penalty box and fed it to the top of the six yard box, where Lantaigne ran in and finished. For Lantaigne, a midfielder from Ajax, Ontario, it was the first professional goal of her career, and it set the tone for the afternoon.

The match turned physical early. One minute after the goal, Toronto midfielder Zoe Hasenauer was shown a yellow card, and Ottawa’s Melanie Forbes followed her into the book in the 19th minute.

Toronto’s second goal, in the 25th minute, came from the length of the field. D’Angelo launched a long ball out of her own area, Hunter ran onto it behind the Ottawa defence, and the 18 year old striker from Calgary made no mistake, burying her finish for a 2-0 lead. The assist was the first of D’Angelo’s NSL career.

Toronto kept coming. The home side owned the ball and the territory for long stretches of the first half, and Milanović later called it probably one of the best halves his team played all year.

D’Angelo Stands Tall

Ottawa’s best route back into the match came in the 30th minute, when they were awarded a penalty. D.B. Pridham stepped up, and D’Angelo read it and kept it out, protecting the two goal lead. A goal there changes the whole tie. Instead, Toronto went into half time still two goals clear.

D’Angelo finished the afternoon with three saves to go with her assist, and her distribution kept setting Toronto away on the break all match long.

The semifinal edge showed in the challenges as well, and play stopped while a Toronto player was checked on the turf before carrying on.

Silano and Hunter Finish the Job

The second half opened with another card, Ottawa’s Keera Melenhorst booked in the 47th minute, and Toronto struck again in the 54th. Hunter’s initial attempt produced a rebound, and Silano collected it and buried her finish to make it 3-0.

Ottawa answered in the 58th minute through Choo Hyojoo, and the visitors briefly had a way back. Lantaigne was booked in the 62nd minute as the match opened up. Four minutes later Toronto closed the door: Silano turned provider, and Hunter buried her pass to complete her brace and restore the three goal cushion at 4-1.

Silano, whose goal and assist both came in the second half, was at the center of everything Toronto did after the break.

Ottawa kept pushing and were rewarded near the end. Kayla Adamek was booked in the 88th minute, and in the 90th minute Melenhorst added Ottawa’s second to cut the final margin to 4-2.

The late goal frustrated the home bench. Milanović said his team deserved to win by more, looking at the chances that happened throughout the game on both sides, but he allowed that the tighter finish might keep his side sharper in training this week.

The Numbers

Toronto’s attacking intent showed in the match summary: 22 total shots, 11 on goal, 2 corner kicks, 3 offsides and 8 fouls, with 3 saves by D’Angelo. Five players were booked in a match refereed by Scott Bowman: Hasenauer and Lantaigne for Toronto, and Forbes, Melenhorst and Adamek for Ottawa.

What They Said

Head coach Marko Milanović was pleased with the performance, but his mind was already on the second leg. “It’s only the first half of this (semifinal),” he said. “We have to forget about this game as quickly as possible and prepare for the next one. We’re obviously happy with our performance. First half was outstanding, probably one of the best halves we played all year. Second half was good as well. I thought we maybe could have finished a few more chances and the goal at the end was probably avoidable. But it’s something that we’re going to definitely look at this week and clean up for next week.”

Hunter pointed to the team around her. “It’s an amazing feeling, but I think all of it came from the team. Marko said it, first half, we were amazing. We were getting our foot on every ball, winning every fifty-fifty, and we were just getting at them. So yeah, we need to build off this momentum that we built and go into next week at 0-0. Same momentum and just bring another good game.” The brace gave the 18 year old two goals and an assist in the biggest match of Toronto’s season.

Milanović saved special praise for Lantaigne and her first professional goal. “I’m really happy for her. There was a stretch in the season where she didn’t play at all, but she continued to work hard. She’s one of the most liked people in the club, phenomenal attitude. And it’s not easy not playing, especially when you have quality, but maybe there’s just someone in front of you that’s maybe a little bit ahead at that time, but it’s hard for players to accept that. And she’s been incredible and continued to work hard, continued to support her teammates, and always added to the environment with her attitude and energy. And this is now her reward. She’s been great since she came in the lineup and we’re all so happy to see her score.”

D’Angelo was happy with the win and honest about the goals against. “Happy that we got the win. Little frustrated with two goals against, but that’s football. I think the team did really, really well front to back. I think our press was outstanding, putting them under pressure and forcing mistakes and then capitalising when we needed to. So yeah, really happy with the team.”

Looking ahead, she added: “I think it’s looking at where we can fix certain things from this game and continue to improve for next game. I think we all know football, a two nil lead is a scary lead. So I think we need to go in with the same fight that we had for this game next game.”

The Home Support

The home support was in full voice behind the Vermilion Vanguard banner, and the noise never dropped across the ninety minutes.

At the final whistle, the Toronto players went to the supporters to applaud them back, the whole building sharing a two goal lead to carry into the second leg.

For all the noise, a semifinal has its quiet moments too, the pauses before a restart where the whole stadium holds its breath.

Scoring Summary

AFC Toronto: April Lantaigne (11′), Kaylee Hunter (25′, 66′), Lena Silano (54′)

Ottawa Rapid FC: Choo Hyojoo (58′), Keera Melenhorst (90′)

Match Facts

The match was refereed by Scott Bowman, with assistants Félix Côté-Leclerc and Shukwia Tajik and fourth official Sheila Couture. Toronto’s starting lineup was Sabrina D’Angelo in goal; Colby Barnett, Sarah Rollins and Shelina Zadorsky in defence; Olivia Chisholm, Zoe Hasenauer, April Lantaigne, Lauren Rowe and Nikayla Small in midfield; and Kaylee Hunter and Lena Silano up front.

What Comes Next

Toronto travels to the nation’s capital for the second leg at TD Place Stadium on Saturday, November 7. Kickoff is 2 p.m. ET and the match is available on CBC. The winner of the tie advances to the Northern Super League final. Toronto goes in up two goals, and by every word out of their own locker room, they are treating it as 0-0.

All photos by Leo Bodei for We Speak Media.