Super Falcons star Esther Okoronkwo unleashed a ferocious first-half hat-trick to demolish Montreal Roses 4-1 on Monday, propelling AFC Toronto into the inaugural Northern Super League final with a commanding 6-1 aggregate triumph and etching her name deeper into African football lore.
The 28-year-old Nigerian forward, a frontrunner for the 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year, struck gold in a snow-dusted York Lions Stadium, netting three times in just 26 minutes to shatter Montreal’s resolve and secure her side’s berth against Vancouver Rise at BMO Field on Saturday.
ESTHER OKORONKWO WITH THE GOAL AND THE ICE COLD CELLY 🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/VcHnbWP4Si
— AFC Toronto (@AFC_Toronto) November 10, 2025
Okoronkwo, who tallied eight goals and eight assists across 21 regular-season outings, opened the scoring in the sixth minute, rifled home her second 14 minutes later from a curling free-kick routine, and completed the treble in the 26th by pouncing on defensive chaos to make it 3-0. Lauren Rowe’s sublime volley sealed the rout in the 80th, with Tanya Boychuk’s late consolation for the Roses merely a footnote.
“It was a complete team effort. The work up top from Kaylee Hunter, alongside Esther, was incredible,” Toronto coach Marko Milanovic beamed post-match, crediting the synergy that overwhelmed the visitors. He added: “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.”a69492
The semifinal second leg, postponed a day by heavy Toronto snowfall, capped a dream debut campaign for the regular-season champions, who had edged a 2-0 first-leg win in Montreal on November 1 through strikes from Nikayla Small and Hunter.
Okoronkwo, substituted to a standing ovation in the 66th and awarded Player of the Match, now boasts 18 goals and assists in league play alone — and a staggering 29 contributions across 30 club and international appearances in 2025, outpacing any other African player this year.
Her heroics, following Nigeria’s WAFCON conquest earlier in the year, have reignited buzz around her CAF nomination, where she vies with Super Falcons skipper Rasheedat Ajibade for continental supremacy.
AFC Toronto’s charge into the NSL decider underscores women’s football’s rising tide in North America, with Okoronkwo’s flair a beacon for aspiring talents back home, blending Super Falcons grit with Canadian flair in pursuit of inaugural silverware.
