The Toronto Sceptres are keeping games close, but goals have been hard to come by. A closer look at the numbers, roster decisions, and context shaping Toronto’s offensive struggles this season.
The Toronto Sceptres’ loss to New York on Tuesday night wasn't devastating or disastrous. Still, it was a statement of where the team is at and sharpened the focus on a season that has been less than imagined so far.
Through 11 games, Toronto sits with 20 goals scored and 28 against, numbers that reflect a team still searching for offensive traction. The Sceptres have kept games close, but the margin is thin, and without consistent finishing, it’s a margin that has been difficult to manage — especially against teams like the Sirens, who are finding ways to turn potential into results.
The scoring imbalance within Toronto’s lineup is becoming clearer. Daryl Watts continues to separate herself offensively, leading the team in goals and points, while production behind her drops off quickly. Several regular forwards are clustered in the two-to-five point range, and Toronto sits near the bottom of the league in goals per game — a reality that’s hard to ignore as the sample size grows.
The numbers quietly underline the concern. Through 11 games, Toronto is averaging just 1.82 goals per game, lowest in the league, while allowing 2.55 goals against per night, putting them in the bottom third defensively as well. That combination leaves little margin for error, especially in a league where teams like Minnesota Frost and Boston Fleet are both scoring more than 2.5 goals per game and conceding far fewer. The Sceptres’ profile right now isn’t that of a team simply waiting for one hot stretch — it’s one that needs either more finishing up front or tighter defensive execution to make the theoretical low-scoring identity sustainable.
This isn’t accidental roster math. Toronto made a deliberate philosophical choice last offseason, trading the No. 3 pick — in essence, Casey O’Brien — in order to build what looked to be an elite defensive core. In the two seasons previous, Toronto has been more top-heavy with forwards than on the back end.
But losing Sarah Nurse, Hannah Miller, and Julia Gosling through expansion and free agency removed a significant amount of scoring, and the replacement -by-committee offense simply hasn’t materialized yet.
Several players were expected to bridge that gap. Natalie Spooner looks closer to form in her overall game, but has just two goals to show for it. Jesse Compher and Emma Maltais are contributing in all three zones, but neither has driven offense at the rate Toronto likely projected. Maggie Connors remains a work in progress. And Blayre Turnbull is being asked to center what functions as a first line — a heavy responsibility for a player whose impact isn’t typically tied to scoring.
There’s also a human layer intersecting with the numbers. Olympic selections are looming or have been made. Team USA’s roster was announced without Compher or Savannah Harmon, while Team Canada’s announcement is coming on Friday, with Spooner, Watts, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, and Turnbull all in the conversation. With Gina Kingsbury and Troy Ryan involved on both sides, that pressure is part of the environment, whether it's spoken out loud or not.
Add in illness — several regulars missed an optional practice earlier in the week, with Ryan confirming that multiple players have been sick — and the timing has been less than ideal. There may be some relief once rosters are finalized, but this season is uniquely shaped by that external weight, even if every team is dealing with it to some degree.
Toronto is also younger than it’s often framed. While New York’s youth has drawn attention, the Sceptres are integrating plenty of new players themselves. Kiara Zanon, Clara Van Wieren, and Emma Gentry are still finding consistency at this level, and with Allie Munroe out injured, rookie Hanna Baskin has been asked to take on regular minutes on the blue line.
That blue line hasn’t fully settled. Ryan recently paired Fast with Shelton as a true top duo, Kali Flanagan with Harmon, and Baskin alongside Anna Kjellbin. The logic is clear, but the results haven’t matched earlier combinations, and Munroe’s absence is increasingly noticeable. Her steady, understated game is exactly what helps smooth over the margins Toronto is currently living in.
Goaltending, at least, hasn’t been the problem. Toronto has received what it expected from its tandem. But around the league, the standard is unforgiving. Kayle Osborne has started every game for New York and just posted a shutout. Gwyneth Phillips and Aerin Frankel continue to anchor their teams. In that context, narrow wins require goals — and right now, those remain Toronto’s hardest currency to generate.
None of this suggests panic. But it does create clarity. The Sceptres are built to win close games, but that identity only works when defensive execution is airtight and the offense can capitalize on limited chances. Eleven games in, the scoring concern isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s the defining question — and the games before the Olympic break loom large for the Sceptres to stay in the playoff race.