For ten games, Ottawa Rapid had found ways to stay unbeaten. On Saturday afternoon, Calgary Wild reminded them just how quickly that can disappear.

In a chaotic, seven-goal affair at McMahon Stadium, the Rapid's unbeaten run came crashing down in a 4-3 loss to the Wild in a crazy turn of events. Ottawa twice erased Calgary's leads, survived a red card and nearly clawed their way back again late.

The result drops Rapid FC to 10-3-3, but with 33 points, they remain at the top of the Northern Super League table.

The afternoon started badly and only got stranger from there.

Calgary struck twice in the opening half-hour, with Kahli Johnson opening the scoring in the 14th minute before Serita Thurton doubled the advantage in the 27th minute. For a team that had spent much of the season finding control in difficult moments, Ottawa suddenly found itself chasing the game.

Then came Minyoung Jung.

After DB Pridham's initial effort was blocked in the 37th minute, the Ottawa forward stayed with the play, gathered the rebound and picked out Jung in space. The Korean midfielder made no mistake, hammering the ball past the Calgary goalkeeper for her first NSL goal.

It was Jung's first goal of the season, and it gave Ottawa a pulse.

Pridham picked up the assist, her fifth of the season, moving her into sole possession of the league lead in that category. Her 13 total goal contributions also kept her firmly at the centre of Ottawa's attack.

Ottawa wasn't finished.

Late in the half, Melanie Forbes pounced on a loose ball inside the box and fired home her fourth goal of the season, completing a comeback that had seemed unlikely just minutes earlier.

From 2-0 down, Rapid had levelled the match.

But Calgary had one more punch before halftime.

Thurton struck again in stoppage time, restoring the Wild's lead at 3-2 and sending Ottawa into the break having fought its way back into the game, only to find itself behind again.

The second half changed everything.

Pridham was booked in the 55th minute before bizarrely receiving a second yellow just three minutes later for what seemed to be dissent and was subsequently sent off. Suddenly, Ottawa's task wasn't simply to find another equalizer. It had to do it with ten players.

Calgary eventually stretched its advantage again in the 76th minute when Jorian Baucom made it 4-2.

Still, Rapid refused to fold.

In the 85th minute, Jyllissa Harris stepped up from the spot and converted a penalty to bring Ottawa within one. With five minutes of regulation remaining, the league leaders had a chance to steal something from a match that had repeatedly threatened to get away from them.

But, alas, the equalizer never came.

Five saves from Mollie Eriksson, making just her second start of the season, helped keep Ottawa in the contest. Across the match, Rapid registered 13 shots, six of them on target, while earning five corners.

For head coach Katrine Pedersen, the defeat was frustrating, but the response mattered.

“Obviously we stand here with a loss, and we’re not happy about that,” Pedersen said. “I think what I’m happy with is how the group put in a shift. How we stayed positive and tried to push.”

That mentality was perhaps the clearest takeaway from a match that Ottawa never allowed to become comfortable.

“We still demand a lot of each other, but we stayed together, didn’t start looking down,” Pedersen added. “That’s the positive that I take.”

An unbeaten streak can become its own kind of pressure. Every match without a defeat adds another number to protect, another reason to avoid risk. Saturday finally removed that weight.

Ottawa lost, but they also showed exactly why they've spent so long at the top.

Even after going two goals down and being reduced to ten players, the Rapid kept pushing. Jung found her first goal. Forbes doubled her season tally from a year ago. Harris converted under pressure.

The unbeaten run is over, but the season isn't.

Ottawa will have an immediate opportunity to reset when Vancouver Rise FC (coming off an incredible remontada dub) come to TD Place next Saturday, August 22, for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.

And after a game as wild as this one, Rapid will likely be looking for something much simpler: a response.