Vancouver Rise FC Holds off AFC Toronto, 2-1
NSL Vancouver Rise FC

Vancouver Rise FC Holds off AFC Toronto, 2-1

July 25, 2025 - Northern Super League (NSL)
Vancouver Rise FC News Release


VANCOUVER, BC - It was a paw-some performance from Vancouver Rise FC on Thursday night, as they defeated table-topping AFC Toronto 2-1 at Swangard Stadium.

It was a strong start from Rise FC, with Samantha Chang nearly opening the scoreline in the 7th minute, after a great chop inside from Lisa Pechersky slipped her into the box, but her subsequent shot went just over the bar. AFC Toronto drew first blood, however, scoring in the 10th minute through Kaylee Hunter, after Victoria Pickett passed it to her inside the box to score.

Rise FC dug their heels in after conceding and responded with a goal of their own just 10 minutes later. Chang picked up a loose ball in midfield and blasted a bending shot from just outside the box that proved too powerful for AFC Toronto goalkeeper Sofia Manner to get a hand on it. Chang got her second of the match just 15 minutes later, after being sent through on goal by Josie Longhurst. Chang looked up and fired from distance yet again, and yet again placed it beyond where Manner was able to reach.

Jessica De Filippo almost made it a two-goal advantage minutes later, after she was able to chest down a Pechersky cross, turn, and fire, but her shot went into the side netting. Rise FC then held strong for the last few minutes, keeping Toronto at bay until the referee blew her halftime whistle.

Rise FC began the second half with plenty of energy, with dangerous balls being sent down through the wide channels for Holly Ward and Pechersky to run onto. Pechersky had an opportunity to cut inside and shoot in the 54th minute, but her shot was well collected by Manner. Later, Rise FC's defense did well to quell a dangerous chance from AFC Toronto, with Rise FC goalkeeper Morgan McAslan making some good saves and even pushing a shot onto the post to maintain the one-goal lead.

Jessika Cowart tried her luck with 20 minutes left, lacing a shot from distance but just going wide with her effort. Jaylyn Wright then made a huge tackle inside the box to deny Hunter from having a free shot on goal, allowing McAslan to collect. Rise FC then dug deep and defended hard for the last 15 minutes, withstanding Toronto's relentless attacks and finishing the match with a massive victory at home.

Vancouver Rise FC are back in action on Saturday, August 2, as they host Ottawa Rapid FC for their inaugural Pride Match. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. For tickets, visit Vancouver Rise FC's Ticketmaster.

MATCH DETAILS

Referee: Angelina Baldino

Scoring Summary

10' - TOR - Kaylee Hunter (Victoria Pickett)

20' - VAN - Samantha Chang

35' - VAN - Samantha Chang (Josie Longhurst)

Statistics

Possession: VAN 49% - TOR 51%

Shots: VAN 8 - TOR 13

Shots on Goal: VAN 3 - TOR 3

Offsides: VAN 0 - TOR 1

Corners: VAN 2 - TOR 5

Yellow Cards: VAN 3 - TOR 0

Red Cards: VAN 0 - TOR 0

Cautions

22' - VAN - Kennedy Faulknor

43' - VAN - Jessica De Filippo

90'+3 - VAN - Sofia Hagman

Vancouver Rise FC

13.Morgan McAslan; 12.Jaylyn Wright, 2.Shannon Woeller ©Ã¯Â¸Â, 15.Ariel Young (16.Kennedy Faulknor 16' (6.Sofia Hagman 85')), 3.Jasmyne Spencer (18.Yuka Okamoto 65'); 7.Nicole Stanton (21.Jessika Cowart 65'), 8.Samantha Chang, 10.Lisa Pechersky; 24.Josie Longhurst 11.Jessica De Filippo (9.Mariah Lee 65'), 19.Holly Ward

Substitutes not used

1.Kirstin Tynan, 4.Kayla Goncalves, 25.Nedya Sawan, 26.Anais Oularbi

AFC Toronto

1.Sofia Manner; 6.Kaela Hansen, 14.Sarah Rollins, 19.Ashley Cathro; 4.Nikayla Small (22.Cloe Uddenberg 81'), 8.Emma Ragen, 13.Aoi Kizaki (12.Zoe Burns 68'), 31.Colby Barnett, 94.Victoria Pickett (16.Sarah Stratigakis 68'); 11.Kaylee Hunter, 77.Lauren Rowe (9.Jade Kovacevic 68')

Substitutes not used

21.Sierra Cota-Yarde, 2.April Lantaigne, 3.Hye-Ji Hong, 5.Croix Soto, 17.Nyota Katembo

QUOTES FROM VANCOUVER RISE FC HEAD COACH AND PLAYER ON SAT JUL 24 GAME AGAINST AFC TORONTO

ANJA HEINER-MØLLER

On tonight's performance "It was an up and down performance. You can see in the first part of the game we did that again [with the early mistake], and we fought our way back with focus and hard work. And then defending a result for many minutes, so that was just the whole team working really, really hard to get this win. We talked about, coming in after 45 minutes, winning the half. And the team always gathers after a goal scored against [us] and they had good talks in there, making sure that we know every time there is a goal scored [against], the next five minutes are really important for us to get back into the game."

On adapting the playstyle to secure the win "You know, three points are the most important thing, but I also feel like we are a team that likes being in possession. And I do think our game management after the break really shows that we could play with the ball at our feed with this team as well. So that switch from being in the defensive formation all the time, then getting on the ball, that's a hard switch to do as a player.

But we definitely showed in moments of this game that we can do that. So more of that, I think we would like to improve on."

SAMANTHA CHANG

On her two goals tonight and the victory "I feel great, I don't score all that often, so the fact I scored twice in one game, i'm very happy and just overall happy that we were able to secure the win, because if we would have tied or

lost, I definitely wouldn't be as happy as I am right now. So overall, just really happy to get the three points more than anything else, for sure."

On coming back home after a long road stint "We're always excited to play at home. Our fans are amazing, and being on the road for a little bit, you know, definitely takes its toll. It's harder to get points away [from home] for sure, when you don't have all your fans behind you. So we're very excited to come home, especially because we haven't played here since mid-June. So I know our fans were dying to see us play a game and definitely win one, so I'm happy that we were able to give a win to them as well, because they are amazing and they show up for us all every single game."



Northern Super League Stories from July 25, 2025


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