Vancouver Rise

Vancouver Rise crowned as inaugural NSL champions after dramatic comeback vs. AFC Toronto

The Vancouver Rise have finished off their inaugural Northern Super League campaign with a bang, as they lifted the Diana B. Matheson Cup as NSL champions at BMO Field on Saturday. 

After a solid regular season campaign, one that saw them finish tied for second place with the Ottawa Rapid on 39 points, the Rise built on that in a big way in the playoffs. 

As was typical of their regular season campaign, though, one that saw them navigate some big ups and downs, their journey towards silverware was far from easy. 

First, in the semi-finals against Ottawa, they went up 2-0 early in the first leg, but then conceded in the second half of that game, before conceding twice in the first 50 minutes of the second leg to go down 3-2 on aggregate. 

There, though, they stepped up with a dramatic 85th-minute equalizer from Holly Ward, and then they grinded through extra time and a shootout (where they were at one point one kick away from elimination) to reach the final. 

Because of that, it wasn’t surprising to see them face some more adversity in the final itself, as they went down 1-0 after just 20 minutes through a goal from Kaylee Hunter, a player they know well given that she’d gone through the Vancouver Whitecaps academy (now the Rise Academy) before signing with Toronto – and certainly, she loved playing Vancouver despite her ties to the club, when seeing that this was her fifth goal against them all season long. 

Given the way Toronto were dominating early on in this final, too, having generated a whopping 14 shots (including eight on target) in the first half of this game, it felt like the NSL’s first Supporters’ Shield winners, who finished the year with 51 points (12 points ahead of second place), were going to cruise to a historic double in front of their fans. 

Seeing how they were constantly knocking on the door, missing a few glorious chances to double their lead, it felt like only a matter of time before one of their opportunities found the back of the net like Hunter’s did. 

Instead, however, the Rise came to life in the second half. Having already started to find life at the end of the first half thanks to a lightning delay, the Rise fully hit the reset button at halftime and started to grow into the match. 

As a result, the momentum started to turn in their favour, and then it fully shifted when Nikki Stanton whipped in a low corner that eluded the hands of Toronto goalkeeper, Sierra Cota-Yarde, who bundled the ball into her own net for an own goal. 

All of a sudden, despite the significant shot disparity between the two teams, it was a tie game, and that seemed to favour the Rise, who had all of the momentum in their favour. 

Fittingly, that’s where Ward once again stepped up as a hero. Having announced herself as a key part of this Rise team on day one of the NSL, as she won the penalty that Quinn scored for the league’s first-ever goal, Ward did well to build on the Player of the Match-level performance she put in on that day. 

After finishing the year with a solid six goals and five assists, she had first stepped up with that massive goal against Ottawa, and then she did it again in this final, slotting home with her left foot after a great run to put her team ahead 2-1 in the 68th minute. 

From there, her team did the rest to secure the title, as they held Toronto to just two shots in the second half (with none reaching the target), looking like a completely different team from the one that was leaking chances in the first half. 

Part of that was due to some simple adjustments, such as limiting turnovers when building up and being cleaner in defensive transitions, but part of that was also enacting the never-say-die attitude that the team quickly became known for. 

Thanks to that, they ensured they would end the year by doing something that many thought they’d do before a ball was kicked, and that was to lift a trophy. 

It wasn’t the most straightforward road there, as they dealt with slumps, injuries and other year one growing pains, but they stepped up in a big way when the stakes were the highest, and that allowed them to make history the way they did in the final. 

“The resilience in this team is just amazing,” Rise head coach, Anja Heiner-Møller, said after the game. “To come back and finish with a 2-1 win, I’m so proud of the team.”

Now, of course, the challenge is just beginning for this side. Given the standard the club has set from day one, they’ll want to build on this in year two – starting with a stronger regular season campaign, before finishing with another playoff crown. 

First, though, they’ll savour this victory before setting their eyes on what’s next, as they celebrate being the first-ever NSL champion, something that no other title-winning side will be able to say – another reminder of why this triumph was so important for this team. 

While there has been and will be a lot of reflection on why this first NSL campaign was so important and special, as it marked the long-awaited launch of a women’s game in this country, moments like these are what the players will long remember, so look for them to savour this as they get set for year #2. 

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