Super Falcons forward, Esther Okoronkwo, delivered a stunning first-half hat-trick to send her club, AFC Toronto, into the inaugural Northern Super League championship game.
Her goals helped seal a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Roses in Monday’s snow-covered semifinal at York Lions Stadium.
Okoronkwo, who recorded eight goals and eight assists in 1,486 minutes during the regular season, wasted no time extending that form.
The 28-year-old struck in the 7th, 20th and 26th minutes to put the regular-season champions firmly in control, completing a 6-1 aggregate win over the visitors.
Lauren Rowe added Toronto’s fourth goal in the 83rd minute, while Tanya Boychuk netted Montreal’s consolation in the 74th.
Fans and pundits on social media praised Okoronkwo’s performance, with posts hailing her as “Africa’s next big star” and drawing comparisons to her impactful role in Nigeria’s run to the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semifinals, where she scored three goals.
Recall that she was crowned Nigeria’s Baller of the Week in September after her hat-trick of goal contributions in Toronto’s 7-0 demolition of Vancouver Rise.
“It was a complete team effort. The work up top from (Kaylee Hunter), alongside Esther, was incredible until she came off, and she was the one who set up that first goal as well,” Toronto coach Marko Milanović said.
“As for Esther, we know what she’s capable of. She’s a big-time player who always delivers in big moments — we saw it at the Africa Cup of Nations, and now again in this semifinal. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in the final, too.”
Toronto had won the first leg 2-0 on Nov. 1 at Stade Boreale in Montreal, with goals from Small and Hunter.
They will now face the Vancouver Rise in Saturday’s NSL Final at BMO Field.
Vancouver advanced after defeating Ottawa 5-4 on penalties, with their semifinal ending 3-3 on aggregate.
The second leg of the Toronto–Montreal tie had been scheduled for Sunday but was pushed to Monday because of heavy snowfall across the Toronto area.
