AFC Toronto adds to roster with defender Zoe Burns, forward Lauren Rowe

AFC Toronto has signed Canadian international defender Zoe Burns and Canadian youth international forward Lauren Rowe.

Burns, 23, arrives from France's FC Fleury 91 while Rowe joins from North Toronto Women after a stellar career at Cape Breton University.

A native of Issaquah, Wash., Burns is a dual citizen and represented the U.S. at the under-16 and under-17 levels before joining the Canadian under-20 program in 2022. She went on that year to play for Canada at the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic, where she was named to the tournament's Best XI, and at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica.

In 2022, she earned her first senior call-up and went on to win caps against Nigeria and Morocco.

"Adding a right-sided wingback was always going to be a priority for us this summer, so we are delighted to welcome a multi-faceted talent like Zoe to Toronto," AFC sporting director Billy Wilson said in a statement.

"Zoe is another player with senior national team appearances, and she is eager to play her way back into national team contention," he added.

Zoe's in. Let’s go!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFCToronto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFCToronto</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RunItOurWay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RunItOurWay</a> <a href="https://t.co/9qijqgSaVg">pic.twitter.com/9qijqgSaVg</a>

Burns played collegiate soccer at USC where she was named to the All-Pac-12 second team and All-Pacific Region first-team recognition. Selected by the Utah Royals in the second round (29th overall) of the 2024 NWSL draft, she went on to make 21 appearances before being released at the end of the 2023 season.

"I've played in the NWSL, I've played in Europe, and