Marie-Yasmine Alidou netted the decisive goal from a penalty kick in the 55th minute, propelling the Montreal Roses to a 2-0 victory over AFC Toronto in Northern Super League play this past Sunday. Elyse Bennett, scoring her ninth goal of the season, provided additional security for the Roses, who sit in second place with a record of 9-4-3. This match marked their debut under interim head coach Maryse Bard-Martel.
Despite Shelina Zadorsky seemingly equalizing for Toronto in the 68th minute, her goal was disallowed due to an offside ruling. Roses’ goalkeeper Anna Karpenko demonstrated a stellar performance, facing 20 shots, nine of which were on target, to secure a clean sheet.
On the opposing side, Toronto’s keeper Sabrina D’Angelo encountered seven shots, with five on target. The Roses took the field for the first time since parting ways with head coach Robert Rositoiu following a surprising 1-0 loss to semi-professional team Simcoe County in the W Canadian Championship.