The Vancouver Rise fell 3-1 to Ottawa Rapid despite a plethora of first-half opportunities for the home side that were left squandered on the pitch.
The Rise had 15 shots in the opening 45 minutes, compared to the Rapid’s two. But the 1-1 scoreline at the half was the only stat that mattered.
The Rapid’s took the match to the Rise in the second half, a half that was marred for the home side by a red card.
Rise head coach Anja Heiner-Møller said, “We need to go back and look at the game.”
Vancouver Rise played as though the heat of the Burnaby afternoon was not an issue. Positive in attack, the Rise moved the ball well, particularly through the right and central channels.
In particular, Tori Tumeth looked excellent when playing overlaps with Anna Bout. The pairing these two have created on the right side of the pitch has been important over the course of the Rise’s rise (pun intended) in the table over the past few matches.
Jessica De Filippo was efficient as well, getting into shooting lanes a number of times in the first half hour. However, the final execution lacked, not testing Rapid keeper, Melissa Dagenais, that much.
But just before the mandated first-half hydration break, Min A Lee unleashed a belter from distance, curling the shot into the top corner beyond Jessica Wulf and giving the Rapid a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
The Rise tied it up just before the half. De Filippo took advantage of a chaotic, bouncing ball in the 6-yard box and curled it into the far corner. It was a well-deserved scoreline heading into the halftime break.
The Rapid came out of the gate for the second half with intensity. DB Pridham received the ball from Johanne Fridlund through the middle, cut into the 18-yard box, and regained the lead for her side in the 50th minute.
The Rapid added to the Rise’s misery as Pridham got ahead of Kennedy Faulknor and had the Rise defender bring her down inside the 18-yard box. Due to the reckless nature of the challenge, not only was a penalty awarded, but Faulknor was sent off.
“It’s a tough one. We get a double penalty, the red and the penalty. So, I’m not going to comment on the refereeing there, but obviously, that one’s a big setback for us,” Heiner-Møller said.
Pridham stepped up and converted the easy penalty in the 74th minute.
The red card made it difficult for the Rise to mount any sort of effective resurgence. The Rapid held on for the 3-1 win.
Rise three-match win streak bookended by losses to Rapid
The last time the Rise lost was on May 6, a 4-0 drubbing by the Rapid in Ottawa. After that match, Vancouver went on to post a three-match win streak, moving up the NSL table as well.
However, that ended this afternoon.
“They’re effective on their chances, if you look at what they produce and what we produce,” Heiner-Møller. “The biggest difference today is we need to score on our chances, and they kept scoring on the few chances they had.”
Rapid head coach Katrine Pedersen talked about consistency as a hallmark of their game. For her, that comes from being able to control matches better.
“We looked into [the Rise], and we had a plan for how they have changed,” Pedersen said. “We talked at halftime. We need the next level of energy. So, all tactics aside and shapes aside, we need that extra level of energy. And with extra energy came more possession, and we controlled better, and we were very strong in transition.”
Up next
It’s a quick turnaround for the Rise as they head to Halifax to take on the Tides on Thursday, June 18.
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