June 7, 2025
The Montreal Roses FC beat the Vancouver Rise FC and regain the league lead atop the NSL table
The visiting Vancouver Rise FC arrived in Laval in a four-way tie for the lead of the Northern Super League, ready to face one of the other teams in that group. While the Montreal Roses FC have sat at the top of the table all season long, a recent winless stretch has allowed some of the other teams to creep up into a position to potentially usurp that lead. The Roses though, were having none of it.
Both the Calgary Wild FC and Ottawa Rapid FC were also tired for the league lead at the time of kick-off, meaning that this afternoon’s game could potentially have significant effect of the standings in the NSL table. Still, there’s a long way to go and a lot of soccer (or football, if you’d rather) to play.
See also: Canada defeat Haiti at Stade Saputo
The Roses have been atop the league since the inaugural kick-off, but had fallen on a bit of a slump of late, earning two draws and two defeats in their previous four matches, and a large part of that was due to the injury to their star forward Tanya Boychuk.
Boychuk hadn’t played since May 18th, but returned to the line-up today and instantly, her presence on the field was felt. While she didn’t get her name on the score sheet, her mere presence meant that the Rise FC defensive group spent much of their attention on her, which opened up the pitch for the rest of Roses squad.
Stéphanie Hill opening the scoring ten minutes into the match, when he smashed a beautiful long range ball into the top of the Vancouver Rise FC goal. It was a thunderous connection that left Rise FC goalkeeper Morgan McAslan no chance at getting a hand on it. A collective gasp could be heard among the 3822 fans in attendance, who watched the jaw-dropped shot explode off Hill’s boot, and sail across the box into the goal.
A quarter of an hour later, Charlotte Bilbault fired home a wonderfully well placed low kick that eased past McAslan to give the Roses a two nil lead. Bilbault too was returning from an injury, as the Roses squad looks to be healthy once more. Rise FC defender Shannon Woeller made an errant pass that Bilbault caught with enough time to pick her spot, feeding the ball into the low bottom left corner of the goal.
At the sixty-fifth minute of play, Montreal Roses FC and Team Canada striker Latifah Abdu left the game following a wild slide tackle from Rise FC defender Samantha Chang that took Abdu a considerable amount of time to get up from, but eventually was able to walk off the field of her own accord. Hopefully Abdu is uninjured and able to keep playing, as she has proven herself a key component of this Roses FC team.
A cruel twist of fate, as the Montreal Roses FC seemingly get Tanya Boychuk back – but might have lost Abdu in the process.
With eight minutes to go in regulation time, Rise FC defender Chang again made a wild challenge that brought down Mégane Sauvé in the box, and the referee made no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Chang had somehow avoided cards on both plays.
Noémi Paquin stepped up to take the penalty, only to have her strike saved on a tremendous effort from Rise FC’s McAslan to keep the defeceit at two. Yet, the damage had already been done, as the Montreal Roses FC cruised to a comfortable and dominant win over Vancouver Rise FC and back into the lead atop the NSL table.
Read More:
>> Montreal Alliance thrash the Edmonton Stingers to stay unbeaten
>> New England Revolution run over CF Montreal at Stade Saputo
>> Canada’s Adriana Leon leads Canada over Haiti with brace in Winnipeg
Rise FC arrived in Montreal with the same statistics and points as the Montreal Roses FC, but Montreal showed that they are the better team, dominating possession and dictating the play throughout the full ninety minutes of playing time. For Montreal, a two nil victory over the Vancouver Rise FC is a strong message to the league, and a certain confidence boost as the inaugural NSL wares on.
The league leading Montreal Roses will next travel to our nations capital on June 14th, to take on the Ottawa Rapid FC at TD Place, while the Vancouver Rise FC will next play, at home, against AFC Toronto on June 11th at Swangard Stadium.
