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AFC Toronto Hits Four-Game Winning With 3-0 Victory Over Ottawa
By Following a international break, AFC Toronto returned to action by hosting the Ottawa Rapid FC to kick off the second half of the season.
The match was filled with star-studded performances before the two teams even took to the field at York Lions Stadium.
As the game marked AFC Toronto’s Korea Night, a celebration of Korean culture and our club’s connection to the Korean community — reflected proudly in our squad by Korean international Hye-ji Hong – took place.
The match’s evening featured a live pre-match and half-time performance by Korean percussion ensemble Gonia, and also included an appearance from trailblazing Japanese baseball player Ayami Sato — the first woman to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team – who took part in the match ball delivery alongside Aoi Kizaki.
Come match time, Kaylee Hunter would open the scoring in the 17th minute after slotting away a pinpoint pass from Nikayla Small.
Her celebration was a tribute to the late Diogo Jota.
Just seven minutes later, she would double the lead and notch her second brace of the season by exploiting the defensive line following a turnover, scoring her second of the night and her sixth of the season. Her brace solidifies her place in second place in the league’s Golden Boot Race.
“Every goal I score fuels me to go get more. In every game, I’ve been working hard to hit the back of the net, and that just keeps me motivated,” said Kaylee Hunter on her two-goal performance.
“I’m focused on putting in strong performances, and hopefully more goals will come. I’ve got my eyes on the top scorer spot, so I’ll just keep pushing toward that.”
The third of the night would come late in the match and would be scored by substitute Cloey Uddenburg, who would put the game away with a clean one-touch finish scoring her first NSL goal. Uddenburg hasn’t played since the first two NSL games for AFC Toronto.
“Cloey played the first two games of the season and hasn’t seen a minute since but if you were in our environment every day, you’d never know that,” reflected AFC Toronto head coach Marko Milanovic.
“She does absolutely everything right. These players will tell you the same: the way she trains, takes care of her body, and puts in extra work daily is incredible. She’s a great example
of what it means to stay ready and be rewarded for doing all the right things. She’s waited a long time for that moment, and I’m really happy for her – we all are.”
Next up for AFC Toronto is a trip on the road over at the East Coast to face Halifax Tides FC at Wanderers Grounds on Tuesday, July 15th at 5:30PM EST.
