The Montréal Roses picked up a 2-1 road win over Ottawa Rapid FC on Saturday afternoon at TD Place, behind a first-half brace from co-captain Tanya Boychuk. Ottawa controlled long stretches of the second half, but the Roses defence held firm to see out all three points. Five matches in, Montreal is still unbeaten and still atop the Northern Super League standings. The Roses (4-1-0) return home next Saturday at Stade Boréale; tickets start at $28 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.
The first half belonged to the Roses. Boychuk opened the scoring in the 15th minute, her third goal of the season, and doubled the lead in stoppage time of the first half for her fourth. Montreal went into the break up 2-0, having been clearly the better side on the day.
Ottawa came out after halftime a different team. The hosts pushed forward, pinned the Roses deep, and produced their best chances of the afternoon. Choo Hyo-Joo pulled one back in the 62nd minute, and the pressure kept coming. Delaney Baie Pridham, the NSL’s all-time leading scorer, rattled the post in the 74th.
Montreal’s defence, led by Stéphanie Hill and Anne-Valérie Seto, stood firm throughout. Clear-cut chances were few and far between for the Roses, with the best opportunity coming on a one-on-one chance for Elyse Bennett that the Ottawa goalkeeper managed to stop. At the other end, Anna Karpenko came up with several key saves to protect the lead, as Montreal closed out the match without conceding again. Still, the second half offered a few lessons the team can build on moving forward.
A big win, a week after dropping points in Calgary.
MATCH STATISTICS
Possession: Montreal 44% - Ottawa 56%
Shots: 16 for Montreal (6 on target) - 14 for Ottawa (3 on target)
Completed passes : 354 for Montreal - 446 for Ottawa
Corners: 4 for Montreal – 5 for Ottawa
Yellow cards: 1 for Montreal – 0 for Ottawa
Venue: TD Place
Referee : Sheila Couture
Assistant Referees: Camille Raymond, Paulin-Junior Vanié
“After the result in Calgary, we wanted to show a good response. That’s exactly what the players did today. We scored early, we managed the end of the first half well when it could have gone the other way, and we did the defensive work in the second half to protect the three points. Even when Ottawa pushed us, we created good chances in transition. Ottawa is an excellent team, and this group showed a lot of maturity.” — Robert Rositoiu, Montréal Roses Head Coach
The Roses (4-1-0) are back home on Saturday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. at Stade Boréale to host the Vancouver Rise.
Tickets for upcoming home matches are on sale now starting at $28 at en.rosesmtl.ca/tickets.