The Montréal Roses fell 3-2 to Vancouver Rise FC on Saturday afternoon at Stade Boréale, suffering their first defeat of the season. A one-goal lead given back early in the first half, and a late Jessica De Filippo strike in the 86th minute, decided the match. The Roses (4-1-1) hit the road on June 13 in Toronto before returning home on June 21 against Calgary Wild FC, the first of four straight matches at Stade Boréale; tickets are on sale starting at $28 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.
Elyse Bennett got the Roses off to the start they wanted, scoring her fifth of the season in the 8th minute to retake the outright lead atop the NSL scoring chart. The advantage lasted just eight minutes: Anouk Bout equalized for Vancouver in the 16th, setting the tone for an open 45 minutes. Chloe Minas hit the post twice, in the 39th and again in stoppage time, and the teams went into the break level at 1-1.
In the second half, Vancouver took the lead in the 71st minute through Julianna Longhurst. The Roses answered ten minutes later through Noémi Paquin, on as a substitute just minutes earlier, to bring it back to 2-2. Jessica De Filippo, on one of Vancouver's last attacks of the match, found the winner in the 86th minute.
A tough afternoon in front of the home crowd, but a result to put quickly in the rearview. The Roses still sit in first place six matches in, and the schedule now turns to a long stretch at home.
MATCH STATISTICS
Possession: Vancouver 49% – Montreal 51%
Shots: 10 for Vancouver (4 on target) – 12 for Montreal (5 on target)
Completed passes: 339 for Vancouver – 341 for Montreal
Corners: 5 for Vancouver – 4 for Montreal
Yellow cards: 2 for Vancouver – 1 for Montreal
Venue: Stade Boréale
Referee: Myriam Marcotte
Referees: Stéphanie Fortin, Natalie Berry
"We wanted to give our fans another win today, and we didn't get there. Vancouver played an excellent match - they're a team that made real adjustments since our first meeting on May 2, and it showed. They were more clinical than us in the key moments. That said, I'll take the mentality from our players, who kept playing right to the end and had the character to come back to 2-2. Now we have two weeks before the next match. We'll review, we'll work on what didn't go well, and we'll be ready in Toronto. " — Robert Rositoiu, Montréal Roses Head Coach
The Roses (4-1-1) are back in action on Saturday, June 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET at BMO Field against AFC Toronto. They return home on Saturday, June 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET at Stade Boréale against Calgary Wild FC, the first of four consecutive matches at home.
Earlier this week, the club announced that the Roses will play a match at Stade Saputo on Saturday, August 29. Tickets for this historic match, along with all home matches at Stade Boréale, are on sale now at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.