AFC Toronto looks to turns nerves into excitement for opening NSL game at BMO Field

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 3:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

After 10 weeks of training, AFC Toronto should beryllium well-drilled for its opening crippled successful the Northern Super League. But manager Marko Milanovic knows immoderate things cannot beryllium recreated.

Like playing successful beforehand of 14,500-plus astatine BMO Field.

"I deliberation it's intolerable to hole the players for the nerves that they'll beryllium feeling. It's hard to replicate that successful training," Milanovic said earlier AFC Toronto's grooming league successful the rainfall Friday astatine the lakefront stadium. "You tin lone anticipation that they're going to usage the assemblage arsenic a positive, crook those nerves into excitement and travel retired and amusement what they tin do."

The bully quality is the assemblage should beryllium cheering for Milanovic's squad alternatively than the opposition, the Montreal Roses FC.

"We're little astir the nerves, much astir the excitement," said Toronto skipper Emma Regan, a Canadian international. "It's a location crowd. I deliberation we're going to provender disconnected of the vigor from that. So we're truly excited to commencement it disconnected astatine home."

"I've learned to usage those nerves and crook it into vigor — controlling what we tin control," added American guardant Shaina Ashouri. "I deliberation the full team's down that."

Kick disconnected successful B.C.

The six-team Northern Super League kicked disconnected Wednesday with Vancouver Rise FC's 1-0 triumph implicit the visiting Calgary Wild earlier an announced assemblage of 14,018 astatine B.C. Place Stadium.

"That's past successful the making close there," said Ashouri.

"It was bully to spot the prime of the league from the opening and we anticipation we tin physique connected that," added Regan, a autochthonal of Burnaby, B.C.

More than 14,500 fans are expected to beryllium connected manus Saturday, with the little vessel sold out.

Both Vancouver and Toronto volition beryllium returning to smaller stages for aboriginal matches with Vancouver playing astatine Swangard Stadium successful suburban Burnaby and Toronto astatine York Lions Stadium.

Another complication Saturday is 1 facing some teams. How bash you hole for an hostile you person ne'er seen before?

"It's precise hard. And if immoderate of you person immoderate accusation (about Montreal), we'd emotion to cognize astir it," said Milanovic, prompting laughter. "Anyone from Quebec here?"

AFC Toronto

Toronto is dealing with immoderate injuries, though Milanovic declined to supply details different than to accidental 4 oregon 5 players are unavailable. Two players, including seasoned guardant Jade Kovacevic, were wearing protective boots arsenic they watched from the sideline Friday.

Regan said gathering a squad from the crushed up has made for bully chemistry.

"I deliberation everyone has bought in. No egos and radical are determination to marque each different better, marque this squad better," she said. " I deliberation the coaches did a truly large occupation of bringing unneurotic a radical of players that are capable to play unneurotic but besides get on disconnected the field."

Regan besides said the players person accepted the work and taken ownership of helping physique the league.

"I deliberation it's truly an accidental much than anything. We get to constitute the communicative from the precise beginning," she said. "We get to accidental however we privation this to be. And I deliberation we're going to commencement that precise powerfully (Saturday)."

Toronto stayed astatine location for grooming camp, playing a fig of pre-season games against section competition, some men and women.

De Grasse to beryllium successful attendance 

Andre De Grasse volition beryllium watching with pridefulness erstwhile AFC Toronto takes the tract for the archetypal clip Saturday astatine BMO Field.

The prima sprinter, portion of the Northern Super League team's ownership group, is flying successful from Florida wherever helium has been grooming to instrumentality successful the lucifer against Montreal Roses FC astatine BMO Field.

"Can't miss it. I've got to drawback the location opener," De Grasse said. "We're creating past here."

De Grasse volition ticker the crippled from a suite with his partner, champion sprinter Nia Ali, arsenic good arsenic different family, friends and a fewer concern partners.

"I'm conscionable looking guardant to being backmost location connected the play and benignant of getting a accidental to soak it each in," said De Grasse, who plans to alert backmost to Florida connected Sunday and resume grooming Monday.

De Grasse, a six-time Olympic medallist, played younker shot with the Scarborough Azzurri-Blues. He says his six-year-old daughter, presently progressive successful gymnastics and tennis, volition astir apt effort shot herself soon.

"She decidedly likes kicking the shot around," helium said. "We person a batch of shot balls present successful the house. And we person a small shot nett successful our backyard."

Michigan-based entrepreneur Mark Mitchell became bulk proprietor of the caller Northern Super League franchise earlier this week.

The club's founding partners, who had ties to North Toronto Soccer Club, were Helena Ruken, Brenda Ha and hubby Kamal Sandhu, Jill Burgin, Mike Ruthard, Billy Wilson and Shamez Mangalji.

Ruken is present the club's CEO portion Wilson is the club's sporting manager and Sandhu COO.

Some 30 others, including De Grasse and tennis prima Milos Raonic, person since invested. All are inactive progressive successful the franchise.

"I near them each in. I deliberation it's bully for the community, I deliberation it's large for the team," said Mitchell, who besides plans to instrumentality successful Saturday's location opener.

Montreal Roses FC

Montreal, coached by Robert Rositoiu, has named Canadian winger Megane Sauve and guardant Tanya Boychuk co-captains.

Rositoiu coached AS Blainville to 3 trophies, including the League 1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship. He antecedently coached younker sides with some CF Montreal and the Vancouver Whitecaps academy and served arsenic a method adjunct with the Canadian under-17 men's side.

All six NSL teams are successful enactment adjacent play with Calgary astatine Halifax Tides FC connected Saturday and Toronto astatine Ottawa Rapid FC and Montreal astatine Vancouver connected Sunday.