The Montréal Roses and Halifax Tides FC played to a 0-0 draw on Sunday afternoon at Wanderers Grounds. The result brings Montreal’s record to 11-4-7 and maintains their position at the top of the Northern Super League standings with 40 points, three ahead of second-place AFC Toronto. With the draw, the Roses extend their franchise-record unbeaten streak to seven consecutive matches.
The match was overshadowed in the 27th minute by a lower body injury to starting goalkeeper Anna Karpenko. Called upon for her first minutes of the season under challenging circumstances, substitute goalkeeper Gabrielle Lambert stepped up immediately with four key saves over more than an hour of play to preserve the clean sheet. The club will provide further details on Karpenko’s condition as soon as they are available.
Tactically, Montreal controlled the tempo from start to finish, commanding 64% of possession, completing 524 passes, and registering 19 total shots. Despite generating 23 crosses and five corner kicks, the Roses were unable to breach Halifax’s backline - jointly ranked first in the league for fewest goals conceded - as Tides goalkeeper Anika Tóth stopped all four shots on target. In pursuit of a breakthrough in the second half, head coach Maryse Bard-Martel made a series of tactical changes, bringing on Evelyn Badu, Noémi Paquin, Stéphanie Hill and Hailey Whitaker, but the match ultimately remained deadlocked.
MATCH STATISTICS
- Possession: Montreal 64% – Halifax 36%
- Shots: 19 for Montreal (4 on target) – 11 for Halifax (4 on target)
- Completed passes: 525 for Montreal – 293 for Halifax
- Corners: 5 for Montreal – 8 for Halifax
- Yellow cards: 1 for Montreal – 1 for Halifax
Venue: Wanderers Grounds
Referee: Renzo Villanueva
Assistant Referees: Marie-Han Gagnon, Stéphanie Fortin
"Today, our thoughts are first and foremost with Anna. Seeing a teammate leave the field that way is always hard to take, and the team showed real maturity in staying focused. Gabrielle came on and was exemplary, and our back line raised its level to protect the clean sheet. Taking a point on the road in circumstances like these says everything about this group’s resilience.
We saw genuine progress in our play with the ball, and it let us control the vast majority of the match. We’ll keep working to take our chances and come away with three points, but the progression is very encouraging. We’re already looking forward to getting back out there and seeing our supporters at Stade Boréale next week. That said, beyond the result and beyond football, the entire Roses family is behind Anna and with her through her recovery." — Maryse Bard-Martel, Montréal Roses Interim Head Coach.
The Roses return home to Stade Boréale on Friday, October 2, at 7:00 p.m., as they host Ottawa Rapid FC in a crucial match for their hold on first place. Single-match tickets are on sale now starting at $28 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.
Season memberships for the 2027 campaign are also on sale. Supporters looking to secure their seat for next season, for as little as $22.50 per match, can explore the membership options at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets or contact the ticketing team at billets@rosesmtl.ca.