Super Falcons striker Esther Okoronkwo lit up the Northern Super League semifinal on Monday night, scoring a brilliant first-half hat-trick to fire AFC Toronto into the league’s first-ever championship final.
Playing in snowy conditions at York Lions Stadium, Okoronkwo struck in the 7th, 20th, and 26th minutes to put Toronto well out of reach as they cruised to a 4–1 win over the Montreal Roses. The result sealed a 6–1 aggregate victory for the regular-season champions.
Lauren Rowe added Toronto’s fourth late in the second half, while Tanya Boychuk scored Montreal’s only goal in the 74th minute.
Okoronkwo, who finished the regular season with eight goals and eight assists in 1,486 minutes, picked up exactly where she left off. Fans and analysts flooded social media with praise, calling her “Africa’s next big star” and pointing to her standout performances for Nigeria at the 2024 WAFCON, where she scored three goals on the way to the semifinals.
She also earned Nigeria’s “Baller of the Week” award in September after a hat-trick of goal contributions during Toronto’s 7–0 win over Vancouver Rise.
Toronto head coach Marko Milanović had nothing but admiration for her impact.
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“It was a complete team effort,” he said. “The work up top from Kaylee (Hunter), alongside Esther, was incredible. Kaylee even set up that first goal. And as for Esther — she’s a big-time player. She shows up in big moments, whether it’s the Africa Cup of Nations or this semifinal. Hopefully we’ll see more of it in the final.”
Toronto had earlier won the first leg 2–0 in Montreal on November 1, thanks to goals from Small and Hunter.
They will now face Vancouver Rise in the NSL Final on Saturday at BMO Field. Vancouver booked their spot after edging Ottawa 5–4 on penalties following a 3–3 aggregate draw.
The Toronto–Montreal second leg was originally set for Sunday but was postponed to Monday due to heavy snowfall across the city.
