ANALYSIS – The Vancouver Rise made history by winning the first-ever Diana B. Matheson Cup. They also had to fight back to earn the victory, with a resilient second-half performance.
AFC Toronto had many chances to score as the Vancouver Rise FC had trouble marking Kaylee Hunter and Esther Okoronkwo. However, unfortunately for AFC, they did not capitalize on them.
Vancouver Rise Wins the First-Ever Diana B. Matheson Cup on the Road
Vancouver Rise FC Players, Such as Lisa Pechersky and Nikki Stanton, Played Well
Nikki Stanton came into the game in the 36th minute after Quinn’s injury. Stanton played well and looked sharp. This included scoring the first goal for the Rise.
It also seemed that after Stanton’s goal, the Rise started to gain momentum. One of the players who led the charge was Lisa Pechersky. She was giving trouble to AFC Toronto’s defence, such as:
- Pechersky troubled AFC Toronto’s defence and had a chance to score.
- Yes, Holly Ward scored the goal; however, it would not have been scored if it were not for Samantha Chang’s well-timed pass across the field. It was a world-class pass, and it highlighted why Chang is the captain of the Vancouver Rise FC.
Chang, the captain of the Vancouver Rise FC, had high praise for Stanton, as she said this according to the NSL YouTube Account:
“We have full confidence in every single person coming off the bench,” Vancouver skipper and Stanton’s midfield mate Samantha Chang said:
“Nikki’s done phenomenal in the midfield other times this year when Quinny’s been injured and out, so she knows that we have full trust in her. It’s just about her doing what she does best, which is just breaking up plays and connecting passes. She was phenomenal at that today again, and stepping up and subbing in the first half is never easy, especially in a final.”
Overall, Vancouver took advantage of their scoring opportunities, and unfortunately, Toronto was not able to.
AFC Toronto Had Many Chances To Score More Goals
A consistent theme to their NSL season home opener against the Montreal Roses FC was that they had trouble finding the back of the net. Yes, Kaylee Hunter scored the first goal of the NSL Final, but there were many other scoring chances that AFC did not take advantage of. Some of these examples included:
- Hunter’s header was wide.
- Esther Okoronkwo had some big chances to score. This included early in the second half, where she had a breakaway, but was unable to convert on the scoring opportunity.
Yes, the goalkeeper of the Vancouver Rise FC played well, but AFC Toronto had chances that they wasted throughout the whole game, as mentioned by the AFC Toronto head coach, Marko Milanović:
“There were a number of opportunities that we did not put away.”
READ MORE: Kaylee Hunter: Promising Canadian Teenager for AFC Toronto
Vancouver Rise FC Played Good Defence In The Second Half
The Rise seemed to have settled down in the second half, especially after Stanton scored the game-tying goal. Some examples of this include:
- Good defence by Vancouver in the 67th minute.
- Rebecca Lake deflected Nikayla Small’s pass.
- Yuka Okamoto of Vancouver cleared the ball.
Also, while Vancouver did not start off very well defensively, there was one play that needed to be noted.
The player who might have had the best game of the backline was probably Jasmyne Spencer, who cleared a sure goal that would have been scored by Okoronkwo and made the game 2-0 at that point in time.
READ MORE: Esther Okoronkwo: AFC Toronto’s Leading Goal Scorer
Other Factors: NSL Finals MVP, Morgan McAslan, Helped Them Win The Game
Morgan McAslan, who won the first-ever NSL Finals MVP award, made some critical saves throughout the game. The one that stood out was her making a goal-saving play, as she dove to stop Emma Regan’s shot, which would have made the game 2-0 at that point for AFC Toronto, with Hunter already scoring a goal by that time.
READ MORE: Samantha Chang: CANWNT and Vancouver Rise FC Midfielder
This is what Rise FC captain, Chang, said about McAslan and the 1v1 where McAslan saved Okoronkwo’s shot, which was later called offside.
“When she’s confident, she’s the best shot-stopper in this league,” Chang said. “I had confidence she would make a split save and save it.”
There was also a controversial no-penalty call late in the game. Lauren Rowe’s shot looked to have hit Lake’s arm in an unnatural position. The question in this play is whether Rowe’s shot deflected off Spencer’s foot and then on Lake?
If the shot went directly to Lake’s arm, it should be called a penalty. From the replays, it looked like Rowe’s shot went directly to Lake’s arm and should have been a penalty.
While it is understandable that the referee might have missed the potential penalty kick, it should have been checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
What might be more notable is that AFC Toronto has never won a game at BMO Field. They have played three games at the venue, including two against the Vancouver Rise FC, but have lost all three games.
What This Game and This NSL Season Mean for Both Cities
READ MORE: AFC Toronto and CANWNT Player Profile: Emma Regan
For AFC Toronto and Toronto sports fans, it is heartbreaking. Toronto has hosted the deciding games for both the AFC Toronto and, earlier, the Toronto Blue Jays, which were unable to close the deal on both occasions.
On the bright side, though, AFC Toronto represents the rise of professional women’s sports in the city.
With the Toronto Sceptres starting play on January 1, 2024, and the Toronto Tempo coming into the WNBA in 2026, there is an appetite for women’s sports in Canada’s financial capital. In addition, AFC Toronto will play more than half its home games at BMO Field next year, representing the ambition the club has for soccer in Toronto.
As for the city of Vancouver, this is the first time a professional sports team has won a championship since the BC Lions, which won the Grey Cup back in 2011. There has been a huge rise in professional sports teams in Vancouver since they hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010, and that includes women’s sports, as their first-ever PWHL team, the Vancouver Goldeneyes, will start play at the Pacific Coliseum later this month.
For those who want to know where the quotes from above came from, they can be seen in the AFC Toronto post-game press conference and the Vancouver Rise FC post-game press conference that was uploaded by the Northern Super League YouTube Account on November 15.
Photo Credit: Northern Super League on November 15, 2025.
