Monday afternoon saw some interesting news handed out from the West Coast: the Vancouver Rise officially announced the departure of inaugural head coach Anja Heiner-Møller, who has left with immediate effect.

This move comes at a surprising time; the Rise currently sit a single point away from fourth-placed Halifax Tides for the final playoff spot with six games remaining in the 2026 Northern Super League Regular Season, holding a 7-2-10 record.

Assistant coach Iain Darbyshire will lead the line as interim head coach for the rest of the season. At the same time, Katie Collar and Erin McNulty will continue as assistant coaches.

The 48-year-old Dane was hired in December of 2024 to lead the Rise in the inaugural season of the NSL. After finishing in third place with a 11-6-8 record, Heiner-Møller would lead her team to an unprecedented title win, defeating the Ottawa Rapid on penalties in the semifinals before winning at BMO Field against AFC Toronto on November 15.

So far in 2026, the Rise have been affected by key departures, including Samantha Chang, Lisa Pechersky, Jasmyne Spencer, and Holly Ward.

The club hasn't had much luck with injuries: both Shannon Woeller and Ariel Young continue to recover from ACL injuries suffered in 2025; Jessika Cowart just made her return from a collarbone injury, while Kennedy Faulknor, Quinn and Nikki Stanton have had their fair share of injury problems.

Darbyshire joined the club at the beginning of 2026 after finding success in Wales with Cardiff City FC Women, where they won eight trophies in six years; now, his task is to get the Rise into the playoffs and go from there.

With this departure, only one inaugural head coach remains in the league: AFC Toronto's Marko Milanović.

The Rise are at home for their next match on Sunday, when they host a crucial match against the Ottawa Rapid at Swangard Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET.