VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Rise FC looking for their fourth win of the season against fellow NSL rivals AFC Toronto on Sunday at Swangard Stadium

TURNING PERFORMANCES INTO POINTS: Rise FC have been playing some great football in recent weeks, despite not taking full points in their last two games. Against Ottawa Rapid FC earlier this month, Rise FC had plenty of chances in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on them to secure the win, and later against Halifax Tides FC, Rise FC were mere minutes away from taking all three points in a tough road match before a Julianne Vallerand equalizer forced Rise FC to share the spoils. “We are creating chances, so we do have that chemistry and we’re still building that chemistry,” said Rise FC defender Tori Tumeth after the Rapid FC game. “There’s probably a few missing pieces that we still need to put together, but so far so good.” Should Rise FC finally get those pieces to click on Sunday, they could be looking at yet another famous win against AFC Toronto at home. 

LOOKING FOR THE DOUBLE: Rise FC have had some classics with AFC Toronto since the start of last year, with red cards, high scores and, of course, a certain NSL Final that saw Rise FC lift the Diana B. Matheson trophy. Rise FC currently edge out Toronto in head-to-head with four wins to three, thanks to last month’s 2-1 victory at Swangard Stadium. Now Rise FC will be looking to get their second back-to-back wins over AFC Toronto after doing so this time last year. Back in July, Rise FC got their first home win over AFC Toronto thanks to a Samantha Chang double, pulling it back to 2-1 after going down 1-0 early on. Then later in August, Rise FC showed their resilience and determination to win 1-0 despite going down to 10 players in the first half, with Jessica De Filippo scoring the lone goal. Rise FC fans will be hoping to see a similar mentality from their team on Sunday so as to grab win number five. 

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE: After a lot of turnover in between last season and this season, a number of Rise FC players have had the opportunity to step up to the plate and take advantage of the changes to make an impact. Josie Longhurst and Jamie Perrault have both been able to make their first contributions to the scoresheet with the former scoring her first professional goal last month against Montreal Roses FC last month, while the latter registered her first assist in that same match. Now adding to that is midfielder Anaïs Oularbi, who scored her first professional goal in just her second ever start for Rise FC last week against Halifax Tides FC. “I’m just grateful, honestly,” admitted Oularbi after that match. “I think that everyone that steps onto the pitch wants to perform well for themselves and put the team first, so I’m just glad I’m here to do this with the best people around me.” Head Coach Anja Heiner-Møller will certainly be hoping that even more players follow in Oularbi’s footsteps as the matches go on in this long NSL season.