Everything is coming up Vancouver Rise.
The Rise made it seven matches undefeated with their 2-1 win tonight over the Montreal Roses, keeping their NSL record alive.
Rise head coach Anja Heiner-Møller said they were very happy with the home win after three matches on the road.
“We know they have our back,” she said of their fans. “I think it was a solid performance, a full 90 minutes, just focus from the start.”
The first half started confidently for both sides. The battle was in the midfield as the Rise and the Roses looked for channels forward.
The Roses had the first opportunity as Tanya Boychuk redirected a decent cross into the six-yard box. But the effort went to the wrong side of the far post.
Lisa Pechersky’s run in the 11th minute was strong, beating her defender and getting to a well-placed forward ball, but her shot was high.
Boychuk’s second effort in the 17th minute did give the Roses the early lead. Pushing herself in front of the Rises’ Jessika Cowart, the Roses captain was first to the ball and unleashed a powerful shot, sailing over Morgan McAslan.
But the lead was short-lived. Quinn’s killer pass was put into the path of a streaking Holly Ward. The attacker found space inside at the edge of the 18-yard box and delivered a hard, low shot past Gabrielle Lambert for her fifth goal of the season.
The Rise took the lead late in the first half, courtesy of Pechersky. The Toronto-born attacker had been asking questions of Lambert all half but had not been able to get a shot on target.
But that changed in first-half stoppage time as Pechersky received the overhead pass from Quinn and drove into her defensive counterpart. Cutting inside, she released a left–footed strike past the Roses keeper.
The Rise started strong in the second half, constantly driving into the box with crosses. Montreal creaked under the pressure, but they did not break. Their back line was able to mop up any balls Lambert was unable to handle.
As the half wore on, the Roses mounted increasing pressure. The Rise transitioned to a low black with their substitutions, which gave the visitors the ability to move forward.
However, they were unable to find spaces in between the Rises’ defenders.
The Rise held on for six additional minutes of stoppage time to jump over the Roses and the Ottawa Rapid in the standings, claiming second spot for the time being.
The turning point for the Rise to now
On June 22, the Rise played the Roses at Swangard Stadium to a nil-nil match. And yet, it was an exciting game full of positivity.
It was also the turning point of the Rise’s season.
“That was really the game where things changed,” Heiner-Møller said. “The confidence has just been built on top of that. The team is really finding good structures. The focus is there, the whole team.”
The Rise lost their match immediately after that, but since then, they have gone on a seven-match undefeated streak.
It is a record in the NSL and one they have no plans on ending anytime soon.
Pechersky said they are “in a really good moment right now.”
And with seven matches left in the regular season, the Rise are hitting their stride at the right time.
“We’re hitting our stride and finding our best qualities and playing really well together and fighting for each other,” Pechersky said. “I think we just need to continue with that momentum. It’s going really well.”
Yeah. It really is.
