Ottawa Rapid kept up their strong start to the Northern Super League season with a convincing 4-0 win over Vancouver Rise FC at TD Place Stadium.

The victory gave Ottawa some payback against the team that ended their playoff run last year.

This was the first time the two teams faced each other since Sofia Hagman's penalty shootout goal sent Vancouver Rise through to the NSL finals last November. On Wednesday night, though, Ottawa looked determined to change the story.

Backed by an energetic home crowd, Rapid played with confidence from kickoff and now sit second in the league table after consecutive victories.

For Vancouver, the result continues their string of losses, but there were still meaningful moments within the performance. Tori Tumeth made her first start of the season, Kennedy Faulknor returned from the serious injury that cut short her 2025 campaign, and Jaime Perrault made her club debut off the bench late in the match.

Rise actually began the game well. Anna Bout repeatedly found space down the left side while Mariah Lee looked dangerous carrying the ball forward and testing Ottawa's defensive shape early on.

Ottawa's first warning sign came five minutes in when DB Pridham fired over from inside the box, and from there, the hosts slowly began to take control.

The breakthrough arrived in the 29th minute after Keera Melenhorst drove directly through midfield before slipping the ball wide to Kayla Adamek, who calmly finished low past Morgan McAslan for her first goal of the season.

McAslan was then forced into a sharp save moments later to deny Florence Belzile, but Ottawa's pressure kept building.

Pridham doubled the lead seven minutes later, finishing off another clever Melenhorst pass inside the area, before adding a second goal of her own just before halftime after reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box.

For Pridham, it felt like a continuation of a familiar story against Vancouver. The reigning NSL Golden Boot winner scored six times against Rise FC during the 2025 regular season and added another two goals during their playoff meetings. Wednesday's brace was already her fourth in the league and her fifth career multi-goal performance.

Vancouver nearly found a response before halftime through Camila Reyes, whose effort from distance narrowly drifted wide, but the visitors entered the break facing a difficult climb.

To their credit, Rise responded well after halftime. There was noticeably more urgency and composure in possession, and for stretches of the second half, Vancouver controlled territory and forced Ottawa deeper.

They thought they had pulled one back shortly after the restart from a corner routine, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside in the build-up. Yuka Okamoto also threatened from another set piece, while Bout continued to cause problems whenever she drove forward down the flank.

Despite the improvement, Ottawa never truly looked rattled defensively. Melissa Dagenais was rarely tested as Rapid stayed compact and disciplined without the ball.

Ottawa struck again in the 76th minute. Pridham capped off an excellent individual performance by delivering a dangerous ball into the area that substitute Sadie Waite poked home for her first career NSL goal.

"I think that was one of our goals coming into the game, to kind of build up some momentum and a groove going into the next game," Waite said afterwards. "So I think we stuck to that, which was really exciting."

Jessica De Filippo nearly grabbed a late consolation after connecting with a quality cross from Perrault, but Dagenais reacted quickly to claim the ball before the forward could finish.

After the match, Ottawa head coach Katrine Pedersen praised both the attacking sharpness and defensive intensity her side showed throughout the evening.

"This feels very good, I'm very proud of our performance today," Pedersen said. "Nine goals in two games, clean sheet today. We are forward-minded. When we are playing that way, we have to be aggressive defensively as well, and we were so focused and aggressive with our defence. So I'm proud of that."

For Vancouver, the scoreline will sting, especially after another slow first half. However, there were still signs of resilience in the response after the break and encouragement in the return of important players.

For Ottawa, meanwhile, this felt like another step forward for a team quickly building momentum early in the season. With Pridham in clinical form and Melenhorst continuing to dictate games creatively, Rapid are beginning to look like genuine contenders.