AFC Esther Okoronkwo Scores Twice as AFC Toronto Registers First Win in Team History
Nigerian international Esther Okoronkwo found the back of the net twice as AFC Toronto marked their first win in team history. The club’s 2-1 victory over
Calgary Wild FC took place on Toronto’s home pitch, York Lions Stadium, on a rainy Thursday, May 1. The resilience and aggression of AFC’s offence capitalized early, as Okoronkwo opened the scoring in the 26th minute, with an explosive go-ahead off a cheeky pass from Nikki Small. On a turnover from Victoria Pickett in the 53rd minute, it would be Okoronkwo again who used her pace and curved the ball over Calgary’s goalkeeper, Stephanie Bukovec. The Wild answered in the 85th minute with a notch from Meikayla Moore, but it was not enough to equalize the scrappy and tenacious AFC performance.
“It’s gonna be business as usual. We’re gonna enjoy it tonight and then, tomorrow, we’re getting ready for the next one,” said Marko Milanovic, Head Coach. “It’s a long process. We know that. As important as results are for us in the short term, developing players and ensuring that players are growing and that we look better weekly is also just as important. So, yes, it feels good, but it’s just one game and we move on.”
“We haven’t won a game, and it was refreshing – being up two-zero (at one point), we needed it.
[Marko] also told us to keep going and keep fighting,” said Esther Okoronkwo. “Obviously, it’s a credit to my teammates, being around me telling me to go and just giving me a hundred percent and whatever I could do to get on the ball – I’ll get on the ball and try to help my team go forward.”
Next, Toronto takes on Vancouver Rise FC, continuing a homestand at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, May 11 at 2 p.m. ET.
ESTHER OKORONKWO: The Nigerian striker scored the first and second goal of her Northern Super League career
AFC Toronto kickoff NSL Season
TFC Wins First Game of 2025 
Congratulations to the Reds and Coach Robin Fraser on winning their first game of what is expected to be a long and arduous MLS season. Toronto defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 on a goal scored by Theo Corbeanu in the 9th 
minute of play at America First Field Stadium in Utah on Saturday, April 19th, 2025.
Coach Fraser’s record now stands at 1-4-4, and it seems like the Reds players have slowly bought into his defensive philosophies and coverage with a focus on scoring The Reds are a bit short in their offensive exploits and has scored just 8 goals in nine starts with 13 against.
“I think it was maybe four games ago that we talked about this “bend but not 
break” mentality. And I felt like that was really indicative of what happened today. And I’m really proud of the fact that we gave up 12 goals in our first five games and in our last four we’ve given up one. It just speaks to the level of commitment and engagement that the players are now playing with. And if you continue to do that, you give yourselves chances to win games,” said TFC Coach Fraser.
Canada defeat USA 2-1 for 3rd place at CONCACAF Nations League 2025
Soca Warriors head coach Dwight Yorke can be proud of his young team. They took advantage of a short-handed Cuba team when Cuba went down a man after midfielder Romario Torres was red-carded for dangerous play from a two-footed tackle on Andre Rampersad in just the second minute of play.
The Soca Warriors could not have asked for a better gift. It was the second leg of a home and away CONCACAF Gold Cup Preliminary match played in Trinidad on March 25th at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva after Trinidad and Tobago had won the first leg in Cuba 2-1.
Cuba had opened the scoring in the first match at home, and it is safe to say that the early red card to Cuba in the second match must have calmed the nerves of Trinidad and Tobago Coach Dwight Yorke somewhat.
Yorke made no bones at the press conference the previous day that he would have accepted any result as long as his team advanced and a draw would have secured his team’s qualification for the Gold Cup championship finals.
However, watching his team miss several easy-scoring opportunities after the red card may have been unsettling, and a scoreless draw to advance was not a good result for his tenure as a coach.
Things got worse before they got better when his team captain, Kevin Molino, missed two glorious scoring opportunities. On the positive side, Spicer’s aggressive play down the left flank kept the Cuba defense under constant pressure.
Forward Isaiah Lee finally put any notion of an upset to rest when he opened the scoring and later gave the Soca Warriors the breeding room with a brace that sent the Warriors into the halftime break leading 2-0.
It was the first time in quite some time that the anxiety level of the Trinidad and Tobago supporters seemed to be in check. It was definitely due to the two-goal and the man advantage.
The Soca Warriors supporters’ appetite for goals was satisfied when captain Kevin Molino scored just after halftime, and substitute Nathaniel James added another one for the road, giving T&T a 4-0 victory.
BRIGHT START TO TFC’s HOME OPENER UNTIL…..
Saturday, March 25th, 2025, began with showers before the skies opened up for sunshine to celebrate the end of a terrible winter. It was a good sign for Toronto FC’s home opener in the Major League Soccer (MLS) against the Chicago Fire at BMO Field in Toronto.
That day also marked the return of Robin Fraser to Toronto. Robin enjoyed good times in Toronto but entered the game winless in three games, with one tie and two losses. Before joining Colorado Rapids, where he stayed for 5 seasons, he was an assistant coach under Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney for five seasons (2015-2019). During that time, the club was very successful on the field of play. Toronto FC won the first domestic treble in MLS league history by winning the MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, and the Canadian Championship in 2017. While qualifying for three MLS Cup Playoffs (2015, 2016, 2017), reached two MLS Cup Finals (2016, 2017) and was also part of the coaching staff that led TFC to capture three consecutive Canadian Championships (2016, 2017, 2018).
However, despite the winning experience in Toronto, Coach Fraser entered BMO Field with a winless start to his team’s first three. He looked forward to his first win in front of what is still regarded by many as the best fans in Major League Soccer.
Coach Fraser’s young team may also have anticipated their first win in front of the home crowd, and they were on the front foot from the kickoff after having possession at kickoff. For the first twenty minutes, it was all Toronto, and the team was rewarded when #29 Deandre Kerr won an aerial
challenge and scored with a beautiful goal (header) in the 11th minute. It was the best start for the home team, which enjoyed their first lead of the season.
Toronto FC’s left-footed players were taking the play to Chicago down the left side, with TFC’s wing-back Nicksoen Gomis is feeding Tyrese Spicer up front. It was a promising attack since Spicer was having some early success with his defenders, and at that point, it seemed like it would be a long afternoon for the visiting Chicago Fire team. However, it appears that the inexperienced TFC players either became anxious or lacked energy as Chicago began to take over the game’s momentum and systematically moved into attack mode. At that point, it seemed like there was a dogfight, and the battle began to work against the inexperienced Toronto team. The tables finally turned in the 30th minute when
Chicago’s Andrew Gutman scored the equalizer with a left-footed piledriver that beat goalkeeper Johnson’s outstretched left hand into the last post. Gutman’s shot was from just outside the 18-yard box to the left. The goal resulted from a careless giveaway from a TFC player’s attempt to dribble his third opponent.
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Canada re-enters the Lion’s Den in Qatar.
The FIFA World Cup kicks off at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, on Sunday, November 20th, with the opening ceremony followed by the host Qatar playing against Ecuador. The exciting news for Canadian fans is that after a 36-year absence, Canada will be one of the 32 teams competing for the Cup. The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and while there are always skeptics, the Qatar world cup is expected to be the best edition of the tournament. From a media standpoint, the world cup in Qatar promises to be quite an adventure since the infrastructure caters for travel to the seven stadiums, and the media is presented with a daily offering of two games out of the four being played at the group stage. Canada is in Group F with Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco, and as the lowest seed in the group, the team has a chance to become the story of the world cup. Canada meets Belgium on Wednesday, November 23rd, Croatia on November 27th, and Morocco on December 1st. And with the top two teams advancing to the Round of 16 knockout stage, all eyes will be on Canada as the Cinderella team. Canada seems ripe and ready to perform at this tournament despite several anxious moments heading into the tournament when player injuries were of huge concern.
However, all is well that ends well since the key players regained fitness and were named to the 26-man world cup squad. Canada will have to perform with the same underdog mindset as the CONCACAF world cup qualifying octagonal tournament, where they defeated higher ranked teams such as Mexico, USA, and Costa Rica. And while a Concacaf tournament is not the same as a FIFA World Cup, defying odds at any level is a great confidence builder, especially when Canada lacks the world cup experience. However, Coach Herdman and his staff have defied the odds and can certainly reinforce the belief that their world cup mission can be accomplished. Let’s not be fooled; Canada is up against a heavily favoured Belgium team that has a ton of talent with world cup experience and depth at all positions. Canada, on the other hand, can have a neutralizing effect if its youth and team speed work in coordination with an effective game plan. Canada has experienced players who play in the big leagues in Europe. Still, it is a fact that there is no league level compared to the world cup, where positional play (shape) and assignment protocol are at a premium. There is no doubt that Belgium will accept nothing less than a 3-goal margin win without conceding a goal against Canada. Still, Canada coach Herdman should be able to put together an effective game plan against Belgium. Canada’s second game against Croatia will, for the most part, be played at a high-intensity base on the prospects of advancing and/or elimination. It is at this juncture where, surprisingly, most coaches are willing to answer post-game questions about their team winning ugly. With all things considered, Croatia could be the toughest opponent Canada may face in the group based on their experience, physicality, and attention to detail. However, as an older team, there is no doubt that a Canada win over Croatia is more realistic than against Belgium solely because of Belgium’s offensive firepower. Another concern in the Croatia match is that Canada has not felt the pressure of an elimination match since the semi-final loss in overtime against Mexico at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the Croatia game will be a pressure cooker. That is not to say that Croatia will not be under pressure, irrespective of the result of their first match against Morocco, but it is a game that can change the fortunes of a team. Around the second game of the tournament, the cream rises, and goal differences and head-to-head tiebreakers become backbreakers. Canada’s third game against Morocco should be a dandy since it might be the last chance for either team to win and advance to the Round of 16. It could also be the last opportunity for each team to get off the mark in terms of scoring and/ or gaining points. Coach Herdman has proven to be one of the best in preparing his team, and it may be that he is anticipating gaining at least a point against Belgium and Croatia with hopes of posting a win against Morocco to advance to the Round of 16.
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