It was a match that Vancouver Rise would have believed they could have wrapped up earlier, but they got the job done, winning 1-0 against Halifax Tides.
Jasmyne Spencer had the only goal of the match, an edge-of-the-box screamer in the second half, and the Rise’s first that was not a penalty.
Rise head coach Anja Heiner-Møller said her team “need[ed] to close this game a little earlier.”
Heiner-Møller made a couple of changes from the match squad a week ago. Kennedy Faulknor drew into the back line with Jessika Cowart going the other way to the bench.
Nedya Sawan also started with Lisa Pechersky being dropped from the match squad.
It was a muted first half from both sides. The Rise dominated the bulk of possession but found it difficult to gain any sense of control in the Tides’ 18-yard box.
“I feel we had situations where we could get the ball in [the 18-yard box], but we didn’t get it in there,” Heiner-Møller said. “We talk a lot about our attacking balance, so when we do that cross, we need to make sure that we win the ball back if we don’t get an impact on the ball in the box.”
At the other end of the pitch, the Tides did not give Morgan McAslan any sort of test. While neither side registered a shot on target, the Rise was the only side that looked to have any real opportunities.
Nicole Stanton had the best opportunity on a free kick in the 40th minute, but she put it over Erin McLeod’s net.
The second half started with more of the same. But an exchange of early chances saw the Rise come out ahead with a screamer from Jasmyne Spencer in the 53rd minute.
McLeod punched away a Rise corner, but it fell perfectly for Spencer at the edge of the 18-yard box. The left-back put the laces through the ball with power, hitting into the top far corner of the net for the first goal from open play for the home side.
Growing into the league
“I kind of feel we have more. I don’t think we’ve made this big just yet. It’s definitely there. We see good pictures in training. We see good flow on the ball. And we have that in moments in here, but it needs to be longer periods as I definitely think we have a higher level that we can reach,” the head coach said.
Part of the dominance comes in how the Rise want to play. Set pieces are an area that Spencer said they “have a big emphasis on being dangerous.”
For the numbers, the Rise had 11 corners throughout the match in contrast to the Tides’ two.
Spencer’s goal was a well-placed shot that came on the second phase of one such corner.
“Today, the ball just fell to me, and I was the one to finish it off,” the left-back said. “But I think that, as a team, we want to be known for being strong on set pieces.”
However, Spencer reiterated her head coach’s words somewhat, stating there is more to come.
“We’re growing in that area. We place emphasis on it during the week, and I think as the season goes on, hopefully, the goals continue to come from them.
On the road
The Rise have started their inaugural NSL season with three matches at home. Their next two will be away from Swangard Stadium, where they will face AFC Toronto and Ottawa Rapid.
Heiner-Møller called their Ontario road trip “a new experience for us.”
“It will be a new situation for us,” she said. “We will go into the next two weeks with two games in every week. This will be different, for sure, time change and all that.”
The first of their away matches takes place against Toronto at York Lions Stadium on May 11. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. PT.
