Vancouver Rise FC are becoming pretty comfortable with late drama.

For the second straight week, the Rise found a way to score in the dying moments, rescuing a 2-2 draw against Calgary Wild FC at Swangard Stadium on Saturday and keeping themselves inside the play-off places.

It wasn't the three points Vancouver would have wanted, of course, but after another comeback, head coach Anja Heiner-Møller believes the team's growing belief could be just as valuable.

"Those last-minute goals are important for confidence, of course," she said. "I think you could see in the team as well that we got closer and closer."

The Rise looked like the more assertive side from the opening whistle, keeping possession and pinning Calgary back for long stretches.

Alex Lamontagne nearly gave Vancouver the lead early after the ball slipped behind the Wild defence, but her tight angle didn't leave much to work with, and the shot found the side-netting.

Calgary, meanwhile, showed exactly why they have been so difficult to beat this season.

In the 12th minute, Jessica Wulf produced an excellent initial save, but Serita Thurton reacted quickest to the rebound, bundling it over the line to give the visitors the lead.

Vancouver kept pushing.

Mia Pante came close to finding Lamontagne at the back post before Lamontagne nearly connected again moments later, sending a volley just wide of the top corner.

The pressure continued to build, with the Rise repeatedly winning corners and forcing Calgary deeper into their own half.

Eventually, one of those set pieces created the opening Vancouver needed.

Quinn was brought down inside the box, earning the Rise a penalty. The captain stepped up and made no mistake, blasting the ball into the roof of the net to level the match.

1-1.

The parity wouldn't last long.

With just three minutes remaining in the half, Kahli Johnson restored Calgary's advantage, sending Vancouver into the break trailing despite controlling much of the play.

The Rise came out of half-time with renewed urgency.

Within the opening three minutes, Jessica De Filippo and Pante both came close from outside the box, before Maithé López saw an effort blocked after Anna Bout cut the ball back into the area.

Latifah Abdu then nearly capitalized on a ball played behind the Calgary defence, but Sarah Keilty-Dilling got there first to smother the danger.

Vancouver continued to knock on the door.

After the hour mark, substitute Audrey François came within inches of an equalizer when she met a cross near the penalty spot, only to have her effort blocked.

The chances kept coming, and eventually Vancouver's persistence paid off.

With the match heading into its final moments, Camila Reyes delivered a perfectly weighted cross into the box. De Filippo rose to meet it, heading the ball beyond Keilty-Dilling and sending Swangard Stadium into a frenzy.

2-2.

For De Filippo, the goal wasn't just another late equalizer — it moved her into a share of the league's Golden Boot lead — but she was quick to turn the attention back toward the team.

"My team has been really supportive of myself, so it's kind of a way I can give back to them," De Filippo said. "They've been giving me excellent balls in for me to finish, so all thanks to them."

The forward admitted the Rise wanted more than a point, but felt the way they fought until the final whistle mattered.

"We wanted to, obviously, get three points today, but I'm happy with our resilience and being able to keep fighting and find a goal at the end."

That resilience is becoming something of a theme for Vancouver.

The Rise have now picked up points in each of their last three games, and Heiner-Møller isn't interested in letting the late equalizers become an excuse for another slow start.

"We need to make sure that we don't end up in those situations," she said. "So we need to push so hard to the end, but again the team has shown that we show up in the last minute as well."

With seven regular-season games still to play, there is no shortage of opportunity, but there is also little room for wasted points.

"I think we're very, very hungry still," Heiner-Møller said. "We've gotten points in the last three games, and we want to get more points; we need more points."

De Filippo echoed that urgency.

"I don't think we got enough points at home at the start of the season," she said. "So I think we're definitely hungry for more. We know the table's really tight with points, and so every game counts from now on."

That makes the next fixture even bigger.

Vancouver will welcome play-off rivals Halifax Tides FC for another home game at Swangard on 5 September for their "Soccer for Cancer" match.

"We have known for a long time now that every single match and every point are so important," Heiner-Møller said. "We went in to get three points today. Now we take one, and we will take the one, but we need three points in the next game as well."

For Vancouver, the message is simple.

One point earned. Seven games remaining. And a play-off race that is only getting tighter.