‘It's just more special’: AFC Toronto, Vancouver Rise set to square off in inaugural NSL final

Canadian soccer history will be made on Saturday, when AFC Toronto and Vancouver Rise FC meet in the inaugural Northern Super League final at Toronto’s BMO Field. 

Toronto, who won the Supporters’ Shield as the top team from the regular season, enter this match as favourites in front of their home crowd. They swept aside Montreal Roses 6-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, with Esther Okoronkwo scoring a first half hat trick in the second leg to put the cherry on top of a dominant performance. 

Vancouver finished third in the regular season, tied on points with second-place Ottawa Rapid FC but finishing behind them on head-to-head goal difference. In the semi-finals they won the first leg against Ottawa 2-1 with Latifah Abdu scoring a brace, but down 2-0 in the second leg it took an 84th-minute goal from Abdu’s fellow Canada international Holly Ward to make it 3-3 on aggregate. Vancouver ended up winning on penalties to reach their first NSL final. 

The two sides will be playing for the Diana B. Matheson Cup on Saturday, named after the longtime Canada midfielder and league founder. 

“I think that has been helping me just stay focused and stay driven, since the semis, is the idea of lifting the trophy,” Vancouver captain Samantha Chang said in an interview with OneSoccer. “Some people might avoid thinking about it, but for me I kind of embrace thinking about it, and kind of manifest and envision that that's going to happen for me and and what I have to do along the way to make that happen.”

While Chang is using the idea of lifting the Diana B. Matheson Cup as motivation in the leadup to the final, AFC Toronto defender Zoe Burns said she is taking things one day at a time, and will worry about lifting the trophy after they’ve won it. 

“I think people underestimate how often we deal with pressure,” Burns told OneSoccer. “I think for us it's any other game, and if anything it's just more special. 

“It's not more pressure.”

Saying that these sides know each other well is an understatement. With five meetings already between the two sides this season, including once at BMO Field, there are no secrets at this time of year. Vancouver won their prior meeting at Saturday’s venue while down a player, as part of even 2-1-2 records against each other.

Toronto clinched their spot in the playoffs with a 7-0 win over Vancouver at York Lions Stadium in their most recent meeting in September, though. Chang called that defeat “embarrassing”, but said that they had no choice but to move on quickly – something that helped them deal with adversity all season long. 

The hosts enter this match red-hot, riding a nine-game unbeaten streak that includes eight wins and a draw. For most of the season they have looked like the best team, sitting in first place since week 10, and their opportunity to clinch the regular season and playoff double is proof of that.

While not as hot as Toronto at the moment, the Rise had an eight-game unbeaten streak of their own in the regular season that included two wins over Toronto before it was ended by the aforementioned 7-0 defeat.

For the Rise, their attacking group has been their bread and butter, with Holly Ward, Latifah Abdu, Lisa Pechersky and Jessica De Filippo forming a lethal unit since Abdu joined mid-season from Montreal. Toronto is deep across the pitch, but especially strong in midfield with Canadian international trio Emma Regan, Victoria Pickett and Sarah Stratigakis headlining a strong group.

There may not be a bigger star set to take the pitch on Saturday afternoon than Kaylee Hunter, though. Signing the 17-year-old forward was something of a coup for Toronto given Hunter’s connections to Vancouver and Calgary, and she ended up scoring 14 goals in the regular season to finish second in the Golden Boot race, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award and earning a national team call up in the process.

Vancouver head coach Anja Heiner-Møller told reporters on Thursday that her side isn’t necessarily looking to surprise anyone with how they’re going to play, but rather stick to the principles that have got them to this point.

“I do think we are in the final because we believe in the way we do things,” she said. “The things we do well, we want to beat Toronto with that, and I’m sure they want to do the same thing.”

Chang echoed those sentiments and added that the emphasis has to be on controlling individual moments that may pop up in the match, as was the case after playing Ottawa for the sixth and seventh times this season in the semi-finals. So often matches, especially high-pressure ones, are decided by a handful of key moments.

“It felt like you had to win every duel,” Chang said. “I think that that's important going into the game, just being ready to win every play.”

“By this point, you kind of know what to expect,” Burns added. “There's gonna be a trick play here or there or whatever, but not necessarily anything to worry about. You always have to figure stuff out on the pitch.”

A factor in both NSL semi-finals was the weather, including Toronto’s second leg against Montreal being pushed back a day after snow covered the pitch at York Lions Stadium. It is expected to be a bit warmer on Saturday at BMO Field, though light rain is in the forecast – a much different setting than the winter storm that enveloped Ottawa for last weekend’s Canadian Premier League final. 

No matter what happens on the pitch, or in the sky, the two sides will be ready.

“We've just learned to be prepared for anything,” said Chang, who is expecting around 40 friends and family to be in attendance – a similar theme for several players on both teams.

“We're really excited, but we're really feeling very prepared,” Burns added. “This is what we've been preparing for all year obviously, and we know Vancouver well, we know what we can do, so we're really ready for the challenge.”

AFC Toronto could win the double in the NSL’s inaugural season, or Vancouver Rise could snatch away the Diana B. Matheson Cup on the road. Either way, history will be made by one of these teams to culminate a special year from coast-to-coast in the Canadian club game.