A team that showed its supremacy over the Northern Super League in the inaugural season dropped the biggest game of the year and watched the Vancouver Rise celebrate the Diana B. Matheson Cup on its own turf.
asserted
Rise → show → turf
It hurt.
asserted
It → hurt → ?
So they regrouped, proceeded in the second season with caution, persevered through injuries and focused on one goal: a return to the final.
asserted
they → regroup → final
The road to redemption winds down Saturday afternoon at TD Place in Ottawa.
asserted
road → wind → Ottawa
Not against Vancouver, but a revamped Montreal Roses FC team that finished atop the league in the standings and had little trouble dispatching the defending champions in the semifinal with a 5-2 win on aggregate.
asserted
that → revamp → aggregate
AFC Toronto relishes the opportunity just the same, the wounds of last year’s result still fresh.
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wounds → relish → result
“Those emotions and going into (this year), that’s something that we don’t ever want to experience again,” midfielder and captain Nikayla Small said this week.
asserted
Small → go → that
“I guess that feeling and that kind of motivation in our prep throughout the year has really helped us get to this point with a different mindset and a different type of experience that will hopefully help us lift the trophy on Saturday.”
asserted
us → guess → Saturday
Toronto won’t be at home this time around, as the league decided beforehand that this year’s final would be played in the nation’s capital.
asserted
final → decide → capital
But they’re familiar with TD Place — home of the CFL’s Redblacks, CPL’s Atlético and NSL’s Rapid — having played twice there in the regular season (1-1) and winning the second leg of the semifinal with a convincing 4-0 performance last Saturday.
asserted
they → ’re → performance
A contingent of diehard fans are expected to make the trek from Toronto to Ottawa for the final.
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contingent → expect → final
“We just feed off their energy,” said Small, who is from Pickering.
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who → feed → Pickering
“They show up loud and proud.
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They → show → ?
I think a lot of people from Toronto are proud of the city and the team that we built, and it just means a lot to them to pour that into us and allow us to shine.”
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us → think → us
They will need all the energy and support they can get, as Montreal is one of the teams that gave Toronto a difficult challenge this season.
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that → need → challenge
The two teams met five times, and Toronto emerged victorious only one time, conceding two defeats and settling for two draws.
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Toronto → meet → draws
This is, after all, a Montreal side that’s vastly improved from last year and won the NSL Supporters’ Shield for finishing first in the regular season with 45 points, six more than third-place Toronto.
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that → improve → Toronto
The Roses have had to deal with their own adversity this season.
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Roses → have → adversity
Head coach Robert Rositoiu was fired despite leading the team to an 8-4-3 record and sitting second in the league by mid-August.
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Rositoiu → fire → August
The decision came after an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the hands of the semi-pro Simcoe County of the Ontario Premier League in the inaugural Women Canadian Championship tournament.
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decision → come → tournament
AFC Toronto defender Sarah Rollins didn’t think about playing professionally until she was in university.
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she → think → university
That’s changed with the Northern Super
AFC Toronto defender Sarah Rollins didn’t think about playing professionally until she was in university.
asserted
she → change → university
That’s changed with the Northern Super
Maryse Bard-Martel, who had been serving as the team’s assistant coach and head of goalkeeping, took over the head coaching duties and led the team to a 4-0-6 record the rest of the way.
asserted
who → change → way
Toronto’s head coach Marko Milanovic, who was named the league’s coach of the year for the second season in a row and remains the only head coach from the inaugural season across the league, said “continuity is important” and he’s glad and fortunate to have players who produce the results needed to compete at the highest level.
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who → name → level
He and his team have the benefit of having been at the biggest stage before, and he believes the bright lights won’t faze them.
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lights → have → them
“We do have the youngest team in the league, but I never feel that we’re nervous in these moments,” he said.
asserted
he → have → moments
“The past experiences will definitely help us in terms of preparation and just knowing what to expect, but at the end of the day, it’s just one game and we have to come out and perform.”
asserted
we → help → day
The Aporia
