From the inaugural match to the final, Vancouver Rise FC has played a key role in the NSL’s 1st season
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The inaugural season of the Northern Super League (NSL) has, in many ways, been the story of Vancouver Rise FC.
On April 16, the Rise faced Calgary Wild FC in the NSL’s first match, winning 1-0 in front of around 14,000 fans at B.C. Place thanks to Canada national team star Quinn scoring on a penalty kick.
From there, the team moved on to Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium, where it would play the rest of its home matches surrounded by trees, mountains and cheering fans.
Now, after battling through the season and playoffs, the Rise will take on AFC Toronto on Saturday in the first NSL Final.
WATCH | ‘To lift the trophy would be pretty special,’ says Rise FC’s Holly Ward:
What winning the first-ever NSL Championship would mean to its players
As they head in to the first-ever NSL championship game, players Holly Ward and Latifah Abdu from Vancouver Rise, and AFC Toronto’s Emma Regan and Nikki Small, tell CBC Sports about what winning the final would mean to them.
“It just sunk in,” said Mel Bostrom of the Crow Collective, the team’s official supporters group, during an interview on CBC’s The Early Edition on Wednesday. “It’s insane.”
Bostrom flew to Toronto earlier this week to take part in pre-game festivities and will be there Saturday to cheer on the team.
Meanwhile, fans in B.C., including Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, will anxiously watch the match from home.
“Our city is incredibly proud of Vancouver Rise FC for making it to the NSL finals,” Sim said in an emailed statement.
“This team brings so much energy and heart to the game, and they’ve brought everyone along for the ride. We’ll be cheering them on this weekend.”
WATCH | Club president praises fans:
Vancouver Rise president praises fans ahead of inaugural Northern Super League final
The Vancouver Rise is set to take on AFC Toronto in the first-ever Northern Super League final on Saturday, capping a wild first season in Canada’s professional women’s soccer league. Sinead King, the president of the club, applauded the team’s fans for sticking with them through thick and thin — and said they were building for the future of women’s soccer.
B.C. Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Anne Kang said the Rise’s journey to the final has been important for soccer fans across the province — especially young girls.
“It’s so important that everyone has equal opportunity to participate in sport, and celebrating diversity is a core value of B.C.’s sport system,” Kang said in an emailed statement.
“We’re so proud to see Vancouver represented on a national stage and can’t wait to cheer on Rise tomorrow.”
Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen said he watched the Rise’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Ottawa on Nov. 4.
“I hope they can put up the same performance, and then I’m sure that they will do well,” Sorensen said.
“Hopefully they will win and bring the trophy for the first time to Vancouver. I think that would be amazing. They’ve had a great season so far, but now they just need to pull the last game off and I think they’re going to do it.”
‘Perseverance’
The season hasn’t been a walk in the park. There were weeks early in the season where the Rise sat near the bottom of league standings.
Several players have missed games with injuries, including veteran defender and team captain Shannon Woeller, who suffered an ACL injury in August and has been off the pitch ever since.
How did they get this far?
“Perseverance,” Bostrom said.
“The coaching staff, the front office, they knew what they were doing when they brought in this set of players. Even with injuries that have happened, unfortunately, they have been able to get us to this point. Seeing that switch in the summertime and just following along on the ride, and it’s been awesome.”
Sorensen praised Rise head coach Anja Heiner-Moller.
“Anja has been doing a great job. It’s not been a straight line, a season never is, it’s been up and down but in the end they really found a good way and done a terrific job.”
The first game between Toronto and Vancouver resulted in a 1-1 draw, and subsequent scores showed the teams were well matched. That was, until their last meeting in September, when AFC Toronto destroyed the Rise 7-0.
Diana Matheson, left, co-founder and chief growth officer of the Northern Super League, and NSL president Christina Litz pose in Toronto on Thursday. (Neil Davidson/The Canadian Press)
Whoever win Saturday’s final will take home the Diana B. Matheson Cup, named for the league’s co-founder.
Kickoff for the NSL Final is 11 a.m. PT Saturday at BMO Field in Toronto. You can watch coverage of the match starting at 10:30 a.m. PT on CBC TV and CBC Gem.
