RECAP + ANALYSIS: Vancouver Rise FC beat AFC Toronto in inaugural NSL Final
Vancouver Rise FC was crowned the first-ever Northern Super League champion on Saturday, beating AFC Toronto 2-1 at BMO Field to win the Diana B. Matheson Cup.
Neither side made any changes to the squads from their respective semi-final second legs, with Toronto boss Marko Milanović and Vancouver counterpart Anja Heiner-Møller opting to stick with the groups that qualified them for the championship match.
Toronto’s Nikayla Small had the first attempt on target in the match, taking a shot from the edge of the penalty area that took a deflection on the way through before dropping into the arms of Morgan McAslan. Toronto twice threatened the visitors again a few minutes later, with Esther Okoronkwo making a lung-busting run down the right wing but unable to steer her shot on target, before Kaylee Hunter missed the right post with a volley from a corner.
Small had another chance as Toronto continued to ramp up the pressure on the Rise, with McAslan getting down to make the save on a low shot from close range. Small and Toronto dominated the early stages of the match, with the Canadian midfielder also testing McAslan with a shot from outside the box in the 13th minute.
McAslan was called upon again in the 15th minute, diving to her left to push away a shot from Toronto captain Emma Regan.
The hosts finally found their breakthrough in the 20th minute, through the teenage sensation Hunter. The 17-year-old scored 14 goals in the regular season and once in the semi-finals, and added an NSL Final goal to her growing list of accomplishments by running onto a pass from Sarah Stratigakis and slotting the ball past the goalkeeper – before running to celebrate with the corner flag.
Hunter tried to double Toronto’s lead ten minutes later, driving a shot from the corner of the penalty area, but it ended up bouncing wide of the mark. Okoronkwo tested McAslan as well, but sent her shot right at the Rise netminder.
AFC Toronto strikes first 🚨
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) November 15, 2025
And who else but Kaylee Hunter?!
WATCH: https://t.co/seeEisfx3m pic.twitter.com/KPKJUEnTDY
The match was postponed in the 38th minute after lightning was detected within a few kilometres of the stadium, and the players and fans had to evacuate as a result. After a 30-minute break, standard protocol, the players came back out for a five-minute warmup period before play resumed.
The game kicked off again without Quinn, as the Vancouver midfielder and Canada international was forced off through injury just before the delay. They collided with Okoronkwo in the centre circle and got the worst of it, replaced by Nikki Stanton off the bench.
Just before halftime, Jasmyne Spencer got redemption for playing Hunter onside on the opening goal. Okoronkwo seemed to give Toronto a two-goal advantage with a low shot that beat the goalkeeper, but Spencer did well to throw her body in front of it and clear the ball off the line. Hunter nearly capped a dominant half for Toronto with another goal, but was unsuccessful in her attempt to squeeze the ball in at the near post.
Toronto ended up outshooting Vancouver 14-4 in the opening half, and 8-0 in terms of shots on target. Vancouver needed a big response after the break to keep their Diana B. Matheson Cup hopes alive -- and that is exactly what they got.
Hunter set up another golden opportunity for Okoronkwo a few minutes after play resumed, winning the ball back in midfield before playing the ball behind the Vancouver backline for her teammate to run on to. Okoronkwo took a few strides toward the Rise net, but couldn't get rid of the ball quick enough to take a shot and McAslan pounced on it. Moments later Okoronkwo was in alone on goal again and took a shot, but it came after the offside flag had been raised and the whistle blown, and she was shown a yellow card.
Lisa Pechersky provided Vancouver's best scoring opportunity to that point of the match in the 53rd minute, firing a shot that Sierra Cota-Yarde was able to palm away.
From a corner kick shortly after, the Rise finally found their breakthrough on the scoresheet as well. Stanton fired a corner kick into the penalty area that Cota-Yarde was unable to catch cleanly, dropping it into the side netting of her own net to tie the game at 1-1.
TIE GAME 🚨
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) November 15, 2025
It wouldn't be the @NorthernSuperLg Championship Final without a bit of drama 👏
WATCH: https://t.co/seeEisfx3m pic.twitter.com/YdwCllcHKH
The Rise didn't stop there, and took the lead in the 68th minute through Holly Ward. After her fellow Canada international Samantha Chang fired a long pass down the left flank, Ward caught up to it and fired a low shot across goal, picking out the bottom right corner and beating Cota-Yarde to give her side their first lead of the night.
HOLLY WARD 🚨@VancouverRiseFC leads AFC Toronto 2-1 in the @NorthernSuperLg Final 🇨🇦
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) November 15, 2025
WATCH: https://t.co/seeEisg4SU pic.twitter.com/f262Oq9qFG
Ward's goal totally flipped the script of the final. Toronto was dominating up until the equalizing goal, and when the Rise added a second, they suddenly found themselves scrambling for an equalizer of their own.
They nearly found it in the 86th minute when Hunter slipped in behind the backline and centred the ball for Lauren Rowe, whose attempt to redirect the ball on target was stifled by a pack of defenders. The ball appeared to bounce up and hit the hand of a defender, but referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin waved away the Toronto protests.
Toronto kept pushing hard for a second goal throughout the five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match, but were unable to find one and the Rise held on for a 2-1 win and the Diana B. Matheson Cup. They prevented the hosts from completing the regular season and playoff double in the process, becoming the first team to win the NSL's playoff crown.
Box Score
Lineups
AFC Toronto: Cota-Yarde; Cathro, Rollins, Burns (Rowe 77'); Small, Regan, Stratigakis (Uddenberg 65'), Pickett, Barnett; Okoronkwo, Hunter
Vancouver Rise FC: McAslan; Spencer, Cowart, Lake, Okamoto (Lee 60'); Pechersky, Chang, Quinn (Stanton 37’), Ward; De Filippo, Abdu (Bout 90+1')
Goals
20' — Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto)
54' — Sierra Cota-Yarde (AFC Toronto) — own goal
68' — Holly Ward (Vancouver Rise FC)
Discipline
27' — Yellow: Sarah Stratigakis (AFC Toronto)
52' — Yellow: Esther Okoronkwo (AFC Toronto)
72' — Yellow: Samantha Chang (Vancouver Rise FC)
74' — Yellow: Sarah Rollins (AFC Toronto)
74' — Yellow: Colby Barnett (AFC Toronto)
82' — Latifah Abdu (Vancouver Rise FC)
82' — Victoria Pickett (AFC Toronto)
90+4' — Jasmyne Spencer (Vancouver Rise FC)
Player of the Match
Holly Ward, Vancouver Rise FC
The Canadian international winger was lively on Vancouver's left flank in the second half, and scored the championship-winning goal with a great finish.
