Northern Super League Final: Vancouver Rise FC set to battle AFC Toronto
Published 11:00 am Wednesday, November 12, 2025
The Vancouver Rise FC will face off against AFC Toronto in the first-ever Northern Super League final on Saturday (Nov. 15).
AFC Toronto will host Rise FC at BMO Field in Toronto for the 11 a.m. PT match.
The Rise FC had the most aggregate points against Ottawa Rapid FC to advance to the finals, and AFC Toronto defeated the Montreal Roses FC.
Rise FC head coach Anja Heiner-Møller said the team has worked hard this season and has grown significantly.
“Seeing the team developing on the ball has been really great, and we were true to the style of play from the beginning,” Heiner-Møller said.
“Seeing the team now, everything is coming together, and we’re doing really good out of possession as well, and the mentality as well, we’ve been a team that played one player low in two games against Toronto, and winning the first one. Being down twice against Ottawa in a semifinal, the team still bounced back. So, I think we’ve learned a lot and grown as a team throughout the season.”
The last time Rise FC played AFC Toronto, they lost 7-0.
“Toronto is a strong team, that’s for sure. That’s no coincidence they ended up first, but we have had good games against Toronto,” Heiner-Møller said.
She added that in the Sept. 13 match, the Rise FC were without one player for half of the game, with Jessica De Filippo being ejected in the 45+6 minute.
“So we know that with this team we have to stay focused the whole time, but that was the same against Ottawa,” Heiner-Møller said.
Except for the Sept. 13 matchup, all of Rise FC’s games against AFC Toronto were within a goal of each other, with one draw and each team winning two games.
In addition to staying focused the entire match, Heiner-Møller said they need to be clinical when we have the chances.”
“I am confident that we’ll build and find those chances in the game, because we’ve done really well looking through the last games,” she said.
Rise FC attacker Latifah Abdu said the team is motivated and disciplined and is ready for the final.
“We’re gonna go in and play our game, we’re gonna do what we like to do on the field, and hopefully we’ll be able to come out with a win, of course,” Abdu said.
Winning on Saturday would “mean a lot,” Abdu said.
“It would mean everything,” she said. “It would just be such an example of how when you’re close with your teammate, and you all fight for the common goal, and you all have the same mindset and growing mindset, you can do really great things.”
Abdu added that she and her teammates will give it their all in the finals.
“We’re going to come out strong. We’re going to make sure that after that game ends, we have no regrets,” Adbu said.
AFC Toronto head coach Marko Milanović said, “We prepare the same way, train the same way, and stay true to our process. The final will be no different.”
The winner of Saturday’s final will take home the Diana B. Matheson trophy.
“It’s one more game and this determines who wins the trophy – what comes to mind is the rematch of the earlier BMO game we had against [Vancouver] that we lost. We really wanted desperately to go back to that field because that’s one stadium that we haven’t won this year. Hopefully, we can do it on Saturday,” Milanović said.
The NSL finals are held at a “different neutral location every year,” meaning the location is not chosen by which teams are in the final.
Vancouver Rise are part of Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league, the Northern Super League. The other clubs are Calgary Wild FC, Halifax Tides FC, Montréal Roses, Ottawa Rapid FC and AFC Toronto.
READ MORE: Vancouver Rise FC advances to NSL finals after ‘dramatic’ semifinal win
READ MORE: Reflecting on Year 1: NSL builds professional women’s soccer in Canada
READ MORE: Northern Super League announces expansion for ’27 season
About the Author: Anna Burns
I cover breaking news, health care, court, Vancouver Rise FC, Vancouver Goldeneyes and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader. anna.burns@surreynowleader.com Follow Anna on Twitter.
