AFC Toronto Names Inaugural Academy Roster

Northern Super League side AFC Toronto has announced its inaugural player selections for the AFC Toronto Academy.

The cohort of prospects representing the academy cover the ages of 14-18 and have been specifically earmarked by club staff to enter the club’s development pipeline.

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The academy will be lead by head coach Joey Lombardi and academy director Marc Mainder, with assistant coaches Melanie Jimenez, Melissa Bigg, and goalkeeper coach Matthew Zaikos leading the technical staff in addition to some additional coaching and performance staff hires.

The program is fully funded and allows the cohort of academy players to train full-time with the goal to progress each athlete towards a professional opportunity with AFC Toronto.

“This inaugural cohort represents a major milestone for AFC Toronto and for player development in our city,” says academy directory Marc Maunder. “We are excited to support these players in a high-performance environment designed to challenge, develop, and prepare them for the next level of the game.”

The 32 selected athletes will be presented to AFC Torontos in the pregame ceremony ahead of the club’s match against Ottawa Rapid this afternoon.

“I’m incredibly excited to watch this first group develop within our environment,” adds AFC Toronto technical director Billy Wilson. “This is just the beginning, and it’s exciting to think that some of these young women could one day represent AFC Toronto at the professional level and become an important part of the future of our first team.”

Incredibly, over half of the initial intake arrived from the National Development Center (NDC), another full-time development program – though fans of the provincial football will recognize many of the previous clubs these young prospects have previously played for.

Without further ado, here is the initial AFC Toronto Academy roster:

Ailish Hennessy (2009) – NDC, previously Markham SC

Alyssa McLeod (2009) – NDC, previously Unionville-Milliken SC

Gabriela Istocki (2009) – NDC, previously Woodbridge SC

Iris Oppong (2009) – NDC, previously Unionville-Milliken SC

Paige RueHer (2009) – NDC, previously Markham SC

Samantha Cardoso (2009) – NDC, previously North Mississauga SC

Arya Wynter (2010) – NDC, previously Ottawa South United Soccer

Cecily Collins Williams (2010) – NDC, previously Ottawa City SC

Emily Puotinen 2010 (NDC) – previously Markham SC

Isabella Lanzillotta (2010) – NDC, previously North Mississauga SC

Janelle Lovisa (2010) – Glen Shields Juventus Academy

Lilian Gauthier (2010) – Atletico Ottawa Juniors

Olivia Tapping (2010) – NDC, previously Hamilton United

Vienna Natchov (2010) – NDC, previously Markham SC

Ariyanna Malvo (2011) – NDC, previously Vaughan SC

Chelsea Ejiofor (2011) – NDC, previously Whitby FC

Elisabeth Osieck (2011) – NDC, previously Markham SC

Graci Steenhuis (2011) – NDC, previously St. Catherines Club Roma Soccer

Hanna Varga (2011) – NDC, previously North Mississauga SC

Jessica Pang (2011) – NDC, previously North Mississauga SC

Kiley Rogers (2011) – NDC, previously Pickering FC

Angelina Rose Di Carolo (2012) – Unionville-Milliken SC

Beesan El Safadi (2012) – Oakville SC

Blake Shepherd (2012) – North Mississauga SC

Elli Koromilos (2012) – NDC, previously North Toronto SC

Elena Adamou (2012) – Alliance FC

Harper Calixterios (2012) – Cherry Beach SC

Janiya-Aurlyne Awitor (2012) – North Mississauga SC

Kendall Kim (2012) – Richmond Hill SC

Neila Zabalet (2012) – Aurora FC

Celeste Gomes (2013) – North Toronto SC

Lin Chung (2013) – Unionville-Milliken SC

“Our Academy is a critical part of our long-term sporting strategy and is designed to provide talented young players in Ontario with access to a high-performance development pathway to the professional game,” adds Wilson.

AFC Toronto has shown plenty of faith in its younger players pre-academy, with the likes of Kaylee Hunter and Olivia Chisholm earning minutes aplenty, with several others earning youth permit deals as well.

Having won the regular season last year before bowing out in the playoff final, AFC Toronto currently sits third in league standings.