Vancouver Rise battled toe-to-toe with Montreal Roses for much of Friday afternoon, but a flurry of second-half goals saw the hosts pull away for a 5-1 victory at Stade Boréale.
Already shorthanded due to illness, Rise put together a spirited first-half performance in difficult conditions and created several dangerous opportunities against one of the Northern Super League's top sides.
Just a few minutes into the game, Montreal appealed for a penalty after the ball appeared to strike Jessica De Filippo's arm inside the area. With no VAR in the NSL, play continued despite the home side's protests.
It was the first flashpoint in what became an increasingly physical contest, with strong tackles and heated exchanges between the two teams throughout the afternoon.
Montreal opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Evelyn Badu, but Rise continued to push forward. Oularbi thought she had equalized midway through the half after calmly finishing inside the box, only for the offside flag to deny her a third goal in as many matches.
The visitors kept creating chances and were rewarded just before halftime. After De Filippo won possession high up the pitch, Latifah Abdu quickly slipped the striker through on goal, and De Filippo made no mistake with a composed finish to send the teams into the break level at 1-1.
Rise started the second half brightly, but the momentum shifted in the 53rd minute when Elyse Bennett restored Montreal's lead.
Just three minutes later, play came to a halt following a worrying-looking injury involving De Filippo. Medical staff entered the field with a stretcher, but after several tense moments, the forward was able to walk off under her own power before being substituted shortly afterward as a precaution.
Montreal capitalized on the disruption, taking control with three goals over the final 25 minutes. Badu struck her second of the afternoon with a spectacular effort off the crossbar before Tanya Boychuk added another, and Badu completed her hat-trick late to seal the result.
One positive moment for Rise came in the closing stages, as 16-year-old Vancouver Rise FC Academy product Myla Ewasiuk made her professional debut, marking another milestone in the club's player pathway.
Head Coach Anja Heiner-Møller said the result didn't reflect the way her side competed for long stretches of the match.
"Of course that's not the game we wanted to have. That's a big loss. We stayed in the game and had some good chances first half, and also came out pretty well [to start] the second half. But when the next goal happens, we need to make sure that we close down the game there so it's not two, three, four goals happening afterwards. That's the key thing."
The Rise bench was already stretched before kickoff, with three players ruled out through illness, and the hot conditions only added to the challenge.
"We had three players in the game squad who were sick and not able to play. Of course that makes a huge impact on the team. I think everyone did what they could, but with the heat today as well, there were a couple of extra injuries in there. That was tough."
When asked about De Filippo's condition, Heiner-Møller said there was no immediate update.
With two more road matches ahead, the focus now shifts to recovery and responding.
"Right now we need to recover really well from this game, with the long travel, the heat, injuries, and sickness in the team. And then, every single time we have these losses, we learn from them and grow, so that's the main thing."
Rise FC continues its road trip next Saturday, July 11, against Calgary Wild FC before travelling to AFC Toronto on July 18. The club returns home to Swangard Stadium on Saturday, July 25, to host Halifax Tides FC.
