VANCOUVER, BC (OCTOBER 4, 2026) – It was a high-octane affair on Sunday morning in Toronto, as Vancouver Rise FC held onto a point inside 90 minutes against AFC Toronto to keep their playoff place, but bowed out of the W Canadian Championship with a 2-1 loss in extra-time.
It was a measured start to the match, with both sides just testing the waters as they jostled for early control.
Rise FC then began to find some space out wide, connecting in the midfield to find Mia Pante and Anna Bout out wide.
Morgan McAslan was the first of the two ‘keepers to get tested, as a Kaylee Hunter shot from a tight angle was smothered well by the 2025 NSL Final MVP.
However, Lena Silano did end up scoring the first goal of the match in the 19th minute, after finding space in the box to put AFC a goal up.
Kaylee Hunter nearly made it 2-0 after streaking in behind the defence, but was denied by the post.
Rise FC were not backing down, and equalized in the 27th minute through Latifah Abdu. Camila Reyes found Abdu running in behind the Toronto defence, and the lethal striker managed to sneak her shot past the onrushing Sabrina D’Angelo to tie it up.
Tori Tumeth had a chance to score in the 35th minute off a corner, finding room near the back post, but her headed effort popped up and into the hands of D’Angelo.
Leading NSL scorer Jessica De Filippo tried her luck a few minutes later, driving into open space in the middle of the park and firing from distance, but it dipped right in front of D’Angelo for a save.
Rise FC came the closest to pulling ahead near the break, after Anna Bout’s cross into the box caused a goal-mouth scramble where De Filippo and Abdu both had chances that were blocked.
AFC Toronto went the other way and forced yet another big save from McAslan as Silano fired from a narrow angle.
That would bring an end to an exciting end-to-end first half, with both sides going into the break with the scores level.
The second half proved to continue the high-energy as the first, with Toronto smacking the near post through Silano inside the first 60 seconds.
Rise FC had their own effort strike the woodwork after Bout redirected a Jessika Cowart shot on the edge of the box, but it was called back for offside.
De Filippo nearly put Rise FC in front in the 60th minute, after Bout was able to cut it back from the left, but the sting was taken out after Shelina Zadorsky made a block on the shot.
Later, Abdu came close to setting up De Filippo after getting on the end of a cross from substitute Alex Lamontagne, but her effort once again got blocked.
Sarah Stratigakis had a look on goal in the 70th minute, after turning at the edge of the box and firing a low shot just past the far post.
Rise FC turned the intensity up in the last 20 minutes, battling hard to win possession up high, and it nearly turned into a goal in the 75th minute after Josie Longhurst won the ball at the edge of the box and tried to curl a shot into the top corner, but just put too much power behind it.
AFC Toronto came ever so close to scoring after Stratigakis found a loose ball right in front of McAslan, but somehow missed the target from point-blank.
Toronto got a surge of energy towards the end of the match, meaning Rise FC had to stay strong and resilient in defence to see the game out and earn the point in the NSL standings.
Extra-time in the W Canadian Championship then began, and Rise FC continued to hold firm as Toronto pushed hard to score early on.
But after 10 minutes of extra time, Toronto retook the lead after Hunter redirected a Zadorsky header past McAslan to make it 2-1.
Abdu tried to get Rise FC level quickly after, firing a low shot after Pante’s layoff at the edge of the box, but it was right in-line with D’Angelo.
Two minutes into the second half of the extra time, McAslan had to be sharp as Hunter found an extra yard to drill a shot towards goal.
Rise FC pushed as hard as they could for the rest of extra-time, but in the end came up short despite a valiant effort, ending their W Canadian Championship journey.
Rise FC now focuses on battling Ottawa Rapid FC on October 18th at 1 p.m. PT. to secure their playoff place. The team then closes off the regular season at Swangard Stadium for our Fan Appreciation Match, presented by Explore Burnaby, against Calgary Wild FC on October 25. Kick-off is at 1 p.m. PT. Fans can grab tickets at vanrisefc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Sheila Couture
Scoring Summary
19’ - TOR - Lena Silano (Lauren Rowe)
27’ - VAN - Latifah Abdu (Camila Reyes)
100’ - TOR - Kaylee Hunter (Shelina Zadorsky)
Statistics
Possession: TOR 52% - VAN 48%
Shots: TOR 17 - VAN 10
Shots on Goal: TOR 6 - VAN 4
Saves: TOR 3 - VAN 4
Fouls: TOR 10 - VAN 14
Offsides: TOR 0 - VAN 3
Corners: TOR 4 - VAN 4
Cautions
33’ - TOR - Olivia Chisholm
40’ - TOR - Colby Barnett
109’ - VAN - Latifah Abdu
AFC Toronto
18.Sabrina D’Angelo; 14.Sarah Rollins, 24.Shelina Zadorsky, 31.Colby Barnett; 17.Nyota Katembo (12.Zoe Burns 90’), 4.Nikayla Small (22.Cloey Uddenberg 120’+1), 16.Olivia Chisholm (20.Zoe Hasenauer 64’) , 11.Kaylee Hunter, 2.April Lantaigne; 77.Lauren Rowe (10.Sarah Stratigakis 69’), 28.Leah Silano
Substitutes not used
13.Sierra Cota-Yarde, 5.Croix Soto, 19.Ashley Cathro, 21.Mia Fontana, 23.Jasmine Vilgrain
Vancouver Rise FC
13.Morgan McAslan; 4.Sura Yekka (25.Kaela Hansen 46’ (12.Jaylyn Wright 102’)), 6.Tori Tumeth©️, 21.Chantelle Swaby, 18.Yuka Okamoto; 14.Anna Bout, 3.Jessika Cowart (24.Josie Longhurst 55’), 10.Camila Reyes (8.Alex Lamontagne 66’), 22.Mia Pante (7.Nikki Stanton 105’); 11.Jessica De Filippo (26.Anais Oularbi 91’); 99.Latifah Abdu
Substitutes
31.Jessica Wulf, 2.Shannon Woeller, 17.Audrey François