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Photo Courtesy: AFC Toronto
Recap: BMO Battle Sees AFC Toronto Fall To Vancouver Rise
By For the eighteenth week of Northern Super League action, AFC Toronto welcomed the Vancouver Rise FC to a match at BMO Field.
The club’s return to BMO Field on Sunday night ended in frustration, as AFC Toronto would fall 1-0 to the visiting Vancouver Rise FC. It was the host’s first match back at BMO Field since their first inaugural NSL game played back in April 20, where they faced the Montreal Roses FC and fell 1-0.
The long-awaited return to Toronto comes after playing on the road for almost a month, recording two wins, one tie, and one loss, the latter of which came to the same opponents when Toronto suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Rise FC at Swangard Stadium.
Despite the 2-1 loss, the other two aforementioned wins against the Calgary Wild and the Montreal Roses saw AFC hit an NSL milestone moment by becoming the first team in the league to reach ten wins.
Now back in Toronto and at BMO Field for the second time this season, AFC wanted nothing more than three points at ‘home’.
The first half would be filled with action on both ends of the field with both keepers making crucial saves to keep the game scoreless. The game’s momentum would soon shift in the 39th minute of the first half when Vancouver’s Jasmyne Spencer was shown a red card following a challenge on Esther Okoronkwo.
AFC Toronto would continue to press with the player advantage for the final stretch of the first half and the seven minutes of added time, but would be unable to find the back of the net.
Despite being a player down, the Vancouver Rise would find the net and break the deadlock just 25 seconds into the second half as Jessica De Filippo, who hails from Mississauga, would capitalize on a misplaced pass and defensive error. She would place a low-driven shot past Cota-Yarde to score the only goal of the night, marking the second time she’s scored against AFC Toronto.
For the remaining second half, AFC Toronto would keep on knocking in attempt to tie things up.
AFC coach Milanovic would make three changes by subbing in Aoi Kizaki, Jade Kovacevic, and Lauren Rowe to the mix. Things would get dicey in injury time as AFC would give it their all with both Kovacevic and Hunter hitting the crossbar twice and a vital save from goalkeeper Morgan McAslan denying Emma Regan.
Despite the stats of 14 recorded shots and a 55 percent of possession, AFC Toronto would fall 1-0 and Rise keeper McAslan recorded her sixth clean sheet of the season.
“It’s a very disappointing result for us, especially playing eleven versus ten for more than a half,” said coach Milanovic after the match. “We created enough chances to score, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Credit to Vancouver – they defended really well and put their bodies on the line.”
AFC Toronto remains at the top of the table with 32 points, and with only six games left in the inaugural season, playoffs are in sight for Toronto. With the league’s announcement of the final taking place at BMO Field on November 15, the likelihood of another match at BMO Field for the club is still high.
“Even though both of our matches here at BMO ended in losses, we love playing here”, said coach Milanovic on playing at BMO Field. “The energy from the crowd is incredible, and our goal is to do absolutely everything in our power to be back here again on November 15.”
The bounce back from Sunday night’s loss begins with AFC Toronto’s next matchup as they host the Calgary Wild FC at York Lions Stadium on August 30th at 2:00PM EST.
Header Image Photo Courtesy: AFC Toronto
