{"id":91953,"date":"2025-09-26T15:52:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/?p=91953"},"modified":"2025-09-26T15:52:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:52:43","slug":"vancouver-rise-fc-look-to-clinch-a-playoff-spot-and-build-momentum-against-halifax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/2025\/09\/26\/vancouver-rise-fc-look-to-clinch-a-playoff-spot-and-build-momentum-against-halifax\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver Rise FC look to clinch a playoff spot and build momentum against Halifax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s been an exciting time for Vancouver Rise FC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team is currently navigating the inaugural season of the Northern Super League. Led by Rise FC coach Anja Heiner-M\u00f8ller, Vancouver is currently in the fourth and final playoff spot in the six team league.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An eighth-match unbeaten streak during the summer has helped Rise FC to a 9W-7L-5D record and 32 points, but there\u2019s still plenty of work to do in the final month of the campaign.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rise FC have been out scored 10-0 in their previous two matches. A 7-0 away loss to AFC Toronto on September 13, and a 3-0 home defeat to Ottawa Rapid FC at Swangard Stadium on September 20, have the team searching for answers at both ends of the pitch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think that we had a really long run of games where we were winning a lot,\u201d Rise FC\u2019s Nikki Stanton told reporters following training in Vancouver earlier this week. \u201cI think it\u2019s easy to forget some things going into certain games. Toronto obviously had something to prove to us after (we) beat them (1-0) at BMO (Field) (in August).\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scoring opportunities that Vancouver created during their 6-0-2 run of form from July 19 to September 6 have still been there during their losing streak, but the high quality scoring chances in the final third is where Heiner-M\u00f8ller would like to see more improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI do think that we want to get closer to the goal to have the finishes,\u201d Heiner-M\u00f8ller said. \u201cThat\u2019s also part of our training to make sure our positions, when we\u2019re finishing, are closer to goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The former Danish international and her staff are not overly concerned with the offensive drought. As the team travels east to play Halifax Tides FC on Saturday in Nova Scotia, Vancouver, is hoping to replicate some of the success the team has had earlier in the season against Halifax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">From coast to coast \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf05 Presented by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BMO<\/a>.<br><br>\ud83c\udf0a Halifax Tides vs \ud83c\udf05 Vancouver Rise<br>\ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f Saturday, Sept 27 \ud83d\udd50 3PM AT | 11AM PT<br>\ud83d\udcfa CBC | CBC Gem <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GC28c5pmAJ\">pic.twitter.com\/GC28c5pmAJ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NorthernSuperLg\/status\/1971296235412767001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rise FC are 3-0-1 against the Maritime club, out scoring them 9-1.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Rise FC win or draw, against Halifax, or a Calgary Wild FC loss on Saturday against Montreal Roses FC will lock Vancouver into a playoff spot. Vancouver could potentially clinch a playoff spot before they kickoff on Saturday afternoon at Wanderers Ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vancouver will be without the services of center back Kennedy Faulknor. The 26 year-old did not travel with Rise FC this week. A clear timeline for Faulknor\u2019s return to the pitch is unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VanRiseFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#VanRiseFC<\/a> just finishing up training on the first full fall day of 2025.<br><br>Kennedy Faulknor was not on the pitch training during the open portion today. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NSL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NSL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uyQg4sqsnw\">pic.twitter.com\/uyQg4sqsnw<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Har Journalist (@HarJournalist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HarJournalist\/status\/1970586347250626654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rise FC\u2019s back line has been hit hard by injuries. Captain Shannon Woeller is out for the season with a torn ACL. Ariel Young and Sara Lilja are also out for the season with torn ACL injuries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think our back line has had a lot of changes throughout the year,\u201d Stanton said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like we\u2019re ready for it. We\u2019ve all been learning the principles of those positions. I think it\u2019s just important to make sure we\u2019re fine tuning all of those going into our game against Halifax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stanton\u2019s versatility and leadership is a big reason why Heiner-M\u00f8ller is comfortable moving Stanton from the midfield to an area with a greater need. The 34 year-old is a candidate to anchor the back line against Halifax and as long as Faulknor remains sidelined.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHaving Nikki down there is giving us some confidence on the ball when we put a midfielder down at center back,\u201d Heiner-M\u00f8ller said. \u201cThere\u2019s more experience and also confidence in terms of playing under pressure compared to normal center backs, so that comes with different options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rise FC\u2019s final four matches of the season will be on the road. The team would like to build some momentum before the playoffs begin in November. The task at hand is securing a playoff berth and then potentially home pitch advantage in the NSL playoffs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYeah that would be amazing,\u201d Stanton said. \u201cWe just want to win the rest of our games, but also make sure that we are at our very very best when it comes to playoffs.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vancouver can finish as high as the top spot in the NSL, but surging past Toronto\u2019s 42 points could be a challenge. Ottawa is second with 36 points, and Montreal third with 35 points. The numbers have been crunched and Heiner-M\u00f8ller is well aware of what\u2019s within reach.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe look at it every single week,\u201d Heiner-M\u00f8ller said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done that almost from the beginning because the goals are clear, we want to be in the playoffs and as high in the standings. We look at that every single matchday minus one and (we\u2019re) doing the math.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The top four teams in the NSL will play a two-leg semifinals during the first two weekends in November. The NSL Championship will be played on November 15, at BMO Field in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been an exciting time for Vancouver Rise FC. The team is currently navigating the inaugural season of the Northern Super League. Led by Rise FC coach Anja Heiner-M\u00f8ller, Vancouver is currently in the fourth and final playoff spot in the six team league.\u00a0 An eighth-match unbeaten streak during the summer has helped Rise FC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":91956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[142,3175],"tags":[813,3134,2572,3139,3138],"class_list":["post-91953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-northern-super-league","tag-nikki-stanton","tag-northern-super-league","tag-quinn","tag-rise-fc","tag-vancouver-rise-fc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91958,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91953\/revisions\/91958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}