This match had everything you could ask for: early goals, momentum swings, missed chances, a late comeback and a frantic finish.

Unfortunately for Vancouver Rise FC, it ended without the reward their effort deserved.

Rise fell 4-3 to Montréal Roses FC on Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium in one of the most entertaining matches of the Northern Super League season. The hosts showed plenty of attacking quality, but moments of defensive vulnerability allowed Montréal to leave with all three points.

The game couldn't have started any better for the Rise.

Just three minutes in, Anaïs Oularbi's corner caused problems inside the box, and the ball bounced kindly for Maithé López, who reacted quickest to smash a volley inside the near post. The home fans cheered on as Rise grabbed an early lead and looked ready to build on it.

Montréal responded quickly, though. Former Rise midfielder Lisa Pechersky found space inside the six-yard box in the 14th minute and turned home the equalizer, silencing the home crowd.

The setback barely slowed Vancouver down.

Only three minutes later, López turned provider. After Jessica De Filippo flicked the ball into her path, she drove down the right before cutting the ball back perfectly for Oularbi, who calmly guided her finish into the far corner to restore the lead.

It was a deserved reward for a lively opening from the hosts, who looked dangerous every time they attacked. Anna Bout nearly stretched the advantage moments later after Anna Karpenko punched a clearance straight to her, but her lob drifted just over the crossbar.

Instead of going two goals clear, Rise were pulled back once again.

Montréal continued to grow into the match and found another equalizer six minutes before halftime when Elyse Bennett reacted first to a loose ball inside the penalty area to make it 2-2.

There was still time for Vancouver to almost reclaim the lead before the break. Camila Reyes split the defence with a perfectly weighted pass to De Filippo, who looked through on goal and (arguably should've given Rise the lead) before Karpenko rushed out to deny her at the last moment.

It was a breathless first half, and somehow the teams headed into the dressing rooms level despite creating enough chances to fill an entire match.

Rise came out with purpose after halftime and nearly struck first again when Josie Longhurst released Reyes down the left, but Montréal recovered well to stop the attack.

Instead, the visitors took control.

Mimi Alidou fired Montréal ahead with her first NSL goal before Anne-Valérie Seto extended the lead from a corner just minutes later.

To their credit, Vancouver refused to fold.

López remained at the centre of almost everything positive. She headed over from Bout's cross before forcing Karpenko into another save after intercepting a pass high up the pitch.

De Filippo also came close. First, Yuka Okamoto burst down the left and picked out the striker, whose effort flew narrowly over the crossbar. Later, Reyes delivered another dangerous cross that reached De Filippo inside the box, but her backheel lacked the power to beat Karpenko.

The pressure kept building.

Finally, in the 89th minute, substitute Latifah Abdu gave Rise hope. A loose ball dropped kindly inside the area, and the forward rifled her finish into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit to 4-3.

The final minutes were played almost entirely in Montréal's half as Vancouver threw everyone forward searching for an equalizer, but time eventually ran out.

Despite the defeat, head coach Anja Heiner-Møller took encouragement from her side's attitude.

"I think the team had a really good performance in terms of working their butt off the whole game," she said. "In possession, we can be a little more calm on the ball in the first half, but then I think we're setting ourselves up for more success in the second half."

She admitted the quick goals after halftime changed the game but praised her players for refusing to give up.

"Looking at the end of the game, I really think the team put in a huge effort to come up and produce chances, which we did a lot of them in the last 10 minutes. So I'm happy about the mindset of the team, but of course we want to sit here and at least have one point or win this game."

Looking ahead, Heiner-Møller believes the biggest improvement lies in having more confidence during the build-up.

"We definitely want to be more on the ball, especially the first half. I think we can play with a little more courage when we're building up and come a little closer to the front line when they're pressing us. It's something that will grow into the team because we can do that. It's just about doing that from the beginning."

For De Filippo, the defeat was frustrating because the attacking opportunities were there.

"When we stay true to our identity and find calmness and confidence on the ball, we create a lot of opportunities," she said. "The front line finds ourselves having a lot of opportunities, and it's for us to take accountability to finish those opportunities, to make sure we're going up and not falling behind in games."

The striker also stressed that the squad cannot allow another result like this to define them.

"We're all desperate for points. We're not happy with this performance and some of the performances we've had throughout the season. We've got to push ourselves, stay confident and push the standard so that we come up on top."

There will be frustration inside the Rise dressing room after conceding four goals at home, but there will also be positives. Vancouver once again showed they can create chances against one of the league's strongest teams and never stopped believing, even when two goals behind.

On another night, those late opportunities find the back of the net.

This time, la remontada came one goal short.