The Montréal Roses had to settle for a point on Sunday afternoon at Stade Boréale, in a match where Calgary Wild FC came away with a 2-2 draw in front of a large local crowd. Trailing after half an hour, Montreal turned the match around through Mimi Alidou and Elyse Bennett, only to be pegged back in the 70th minute. Ottawa Rapid FC’s defeat the day before still leaves the Roses (9-4-4, 31 points) within two points of the top spot, with eight matches remaining in the regular season. Next up : Stade Saputo, on Saturday. Tickets start at $20 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.
The script looked favourable enough early on. Montreal held the ball and pressed forward from the opening minutes, but it was Calgary who struck first: Toni Otto hit the post in the 24th minute, and in the 36th, Taegan Stewart converted a penalty to put the visitors ahead.
The Roses’ answer came deep in first-half stoppage time. In the 45th minute plus three, Mimi Alidou found a way through to level the match, her third goal in five appearances with Montreal.
The response after the break was just as convincing. In the 50th minute, Elyse Bennett made it 2-1, a 10th goal that moves her clear at the top of the Northern Super League scoring chart.
The lead lasted less than 20 minutes. In the 70th, Jorian Baucom took one of Calgary’s rare openings to equalize. The Roses pushed to the finish without finding the net again.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Possession: Calgary 47% – Montreal 53%
- Shots: 9 for Calgary (2 on target) – 17 for Montreal (5 on target)
- Completed passes: 346 for Calgay – 381 for Montreal
- Corners: 4 for Calgary – 7 for Montreal
- Yellow cards: 1 for Calgary – 3 for Montreal
Venue: Stade Boréale
Referee: Myriam Marcotte
Assistant Referees: Félix Côté Leclerc, Natalie Berry
"There’s a lot of positives to take from this match, on both sides of the ball: it’s a performance we can definitely build on. We still have details to correct, particularly in how we manage certain moments of the match, and that’s what we’ll work on this week. Now, wer’e very much looking forward to making history at Stade Saputo on Saturday." — Maryse Bard-Martel, Montréal Roses Interim Head Coach.
NEXT UP: STADE SAPUTO
On Saturday, the Roses play the first match in their history at Stade Saputo, where they host Halifax Tides FC. The goal for the match is clear: to set the largest attendance ever recorded for a Northern Super League match.
The halftime show will be performed by Fredz, one of the most prominent voices of the Québec music scene.
Kickoff is at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $20 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.