The Vancouver Rise faced a mountain to climb in the NSL Playoff semi-final second leg against the Montreal Roses, and while they managed a 2-2 draw, it wasn’t enough to overcome the aggregate deficit.
Rise goals from De Filippo and Abdu gave the visitors a fighting chance, but Noémi Paquin and Lisa Pechersky answered the call for the Roses.
Rise interim head coach Iain Derbyshire praised the strong start but was reflective on the overall tie.
“It was something we worked on in training,” Derbyshire said of the start. “It was also something we did last game, and we had a couple of chances early on. And then again, we took two today, and it was great. But I think it was just about the team proving they can do it.”
The Roses struck first in the 38th minute, and it looked as though the pathway for the Rise to get anything in this tie was over.
Paquin received a quality ball from Evelyn Badu as she headed into the box. Her shot beat the Rise keeper, Morgan McAslan, on the right side and sailed into the net by the far corner.
But the goal unshackled the game. And the Rise took full advantage for the remainder of the half.
NSL Golden Boot winner De Filippo took a high ball from Anna Bout off her body and brought it to her feet. With a quick turn towards the goal, the striker lobbed it over Gabrielle Lambert for the Rise’s first goal of the tie.
The Rise added another during stoppage time of the first half.
Josie Longhurst put the ball deep into the Roses’ six-yard box where Abdu was waiting. The attacker’s first touch moved her past Lambert, and the second guided the ball nicely into the net.
Montreal tweaked their game plan slightly in the second half, looking to slow the game down and regain control. It was a successful strategy as the Rise found opportunities difficult, not having a shot on target throughout the half.
The Roses did not have the same problem. Despite a desire to slow proceedings down, Pechersky was not to be outdone.
Tanya Boychuk got around two Rise defenders to cut inside the box along the byline. Her pass into the six-yard box found Pechersky in a dangerous position, and the former Rise player made no mistake, burying it in the 77th minute.
The scoreline would hold until the end, giving the Roses a 4-2 win on aggregate and moving them on to face AFC Toronto in the NSL Playoff final in Ottawa.
For the Rise, the defending champions gave a fight, but the issues of the first leg were simply too many to overcome.
Up next
It’s the offseason for the Rise. Several decisions must be made regarding player hitting the end of the contracts and a few on loan.
“I think we’ll definitely reflect, as a staff on, certainly from my perspective, since I’ve been in my role, how that has gone, how we can improve and how we can take tings and move forward,” Derbyshire said. “The players will recharge. They’ll come in, and we’ll talk to them about the season.”
The Rise must also decide on a new head coach. Interim head coach Derbyshire’s name is likely to be on a list of candidates, and chief soccer officer Robyn Gayle is sure to weighing her options.
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