Latifah Abdu and Megane Sauve each scored a goal to lift Montreal Roses FC past AFC Toronto 2-1 in a battle between two top Northern Super League teams Friday in Toronto.
Abdu, a 23-year-old from Montreal who has one senior international cap with Canada, pounced on a loose ball in the box to give Montreal (6-3-3) a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute.
Roses co-captain Sauve doubled the lead in the 69th with her first in the NSL when she smashed a curling shot from outside the box into the net.
Victoria Pickett cut into the lead in the 78th minute, floating a shot from well outside the box over the arms of keeper Anna Karpenko for Toronto (8-4-1) at York Lions Stadium.
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Second-place Montreal now has 21 points in the NSL standings and trails Toronto by only four with one fewer game played.
The two sides split their previous two meetings.
Montreal defeated Toronto on the road in the first fixture for both franchises April 19 at BMO Field. Toronto then handed Montreal a 2-0 loss at Stade Boreale on May 22.
Next up, Toronto visits Vancouver Rise FC on Thursday and Montreal hosts Calgary Wild FC on July 26.