Montreal Roses advance to NSL final, oust reigning champion Vancouver Rise
The Roses won their semifinal series 5-2 on aggregate and will face AFC Toronto for the championship.
MONTREAL · The Montreal Roses are headed to the Northern Super League final after eliminating the defending champion Vancouver Rise with a 5-2 aggregate victory in their semifinal series. Montreal secured a 3-0 win in the first leg at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C., on Nov. 1 and then played to a 2-2 draw at home on Sunday to clinch the series. The Roses will now face AFC Toronto for the Diana B. Matheson Cup in the NSL final this Saturday at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. Toronto advanced with an 8-2 aggregate win over the Ottawa Rapid.
Noemi Paquin opened the scoring for Montreal in the 39th minute of the second leg, extending the Roses' aggregate lead to 4-0. Vancouver responded with two quick goals before halftime. NSL Player of the Year Jessica De Filippo scored for the Rise in the 41st minute, and Latifah Abdu put the visitors ahead on the day with a goal in second-minute injury time of the first half. Lisa Perchesky equalized for the Roses in the 78th minute, securing the 2-2 draw and the series victory.
AFC Toronto booked its spot in the championship match with a dominant performance against Ottawa. After winning the first leg 4-2 at York Lions Stadium, Toronto completed the series with a 4-0 victory at TD Place Stadium on Saturday. Kaylee Hunter scored twice and assisted once in the second leg, while Lena Silano and Nikayla Small also found the net for Toronto. The match was marred by an injury to Ottawa goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais, who had to be taken off the field by ambulance after a collision in the first half.
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Hunter opened the scoring in the second leg after Dagenais was injured, depositing the ball into an empty net from 25 yards. Her second goal came from a pass by Zoe Hasenauer. Silano scored Toronto's seventh goal of the tie just before halftime, and Small added the eighth in the 52nd minute from a Hunter cross. Ottawa backup goalkeeper Mollie Eriksson replaced Dagenais after a 10-minute delay.
The final will feature the league's top two regular season teams, with Montreal having won the 2026 Shield and Toronto the 2025 Shield. Toronto is seeking redemption after losing last year's final to Vancouver on its home field. The neutral-site championship match kicks off at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 14. Ottawa's season ended despite a late push in the second leg, with chances from Lee Min-a, Keera Melenhorst and Choo Hyojoo all denied. The loss marked the end of head coach Katrine Pedersen's tenure with the Rapid, as she announced in July she would be stepping down and returning to Denmark. Vancouver's defeat denied the Rise a chance to defend their title and become the first back-to-back champions in NSL history.
With files from CBC News, Sportsnet and The Globe and Mail