Northern Super League (Canada)

Here are the highlights from Wednesday's game between the Rise and the Tides:



For Thursday's set in Laval between les Roses and AFC Toronto:





And for yesterday's match between the Rise and the Wild yesterday:



As a reminder, this week is set to wrap up in a few hours' time, with the Rapid and Roses facing off in Ottawa.

 

And here are the highlights:





With this, the league now takes a one-week break, before returning in early June.

In terms of standings:

Week 6 standings (open) Week 6 standings (close)

Les Roses are top of the league, though they are only ahead of the Rise on goal difference; both clubs have 11 points from 7 matches played.

Next is AFC Toronto, with 10 points from 6 matches. So they have a game in hand to try and cash in later on.

After them are the Rapid and Wild, who each have 8 points, though Ottawa have only played 5 matches so far, compared to Calgary's 6.

And at the bottom of the list, the Tides sit with only 1 point from 5 matches. It's been somewhat of a struggle for them to date; can they turn things around when the season resumes play?

(I was trying to see which BigSoccer text colour would work best for each team. Any thoughts?)

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Technically, there is not going to be a formal "Week 7". So, we'll skip to Week 8 instead.

First up is a match on Thursday, the 5th of June, between the Wild and the Tides:



On Saturday, the 7th of June, AFC Toronto host the Rapid:



That same day, les Roses host the Rise in Laval; in Canada, this match is to be broadcast on TSN in English and on RDS2 in French.

 

While taking a one-week break from play, the league has taken a moment to review how things have gone thus far.

Here's hoping that this positive momentum continues throughout the rest of the inaugural season!

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Not great news for continental-level play, however; it looks like no NSL club is going to be able to take part in the 2025-26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

Canada's spot shall instead be held by the recently re-branded Vancouver Rise FC Academy, which the Rise inherited from the Whitecaps FC organization.

I guess that leaves plenty of time to see about what can be done for the 2026-27 iteration, then...

 

Aaaaaand... we're back!

CGY-HFX - 05 June 2025 (open) CGY-HFX - 05 June 2025 (close)

The Wild took what appeared to be a commanding 3-0 lead by the end of the first half. However, the Tides fought back in the second with two goals of their own, though fell just short of levelling things by the final whistle.

Halifax continues to search for their first win - and second point overall - this season. A concerning trend for their fans, no doubt...

Meanwhile, this win puts Calgary at the top of the standings,on goal difference at least. How long this holds, however, is another matter.

 

As for Saturday's matches:

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TOR-OTT - 07 June 2025 (open) TOR-OTT - 07 June 2025 (close)

The NSL has taken to bill this matchup as the "Battle of Ontario", akin to Toronto-Ottawa rivalries in other North American sports leagues.

It's a pretty one-sided battle so far, however; this game ended as a 4-0 win for the visitors, to include a hat-trick stored by Delaney Pridham.

This places the Rapid second in the standings, ahead of the Wild and Rise on goal difference.

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MTL-VAN - 07 June 2025 (open) MTL-VAN - 07 June 2025 (close)

Les Roses once again held serve in Laval, with a 2-0 win over the Rise to return them to the top of the standings at 14 points.

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Four matches are lined up for this week; two of them are to be broadcast (in English) on TSN, and the other two - both involving AFC Toronto, as it happens - being streamed on YouTube.

The first of the TSN matches is set for tomorrow, the 10th of June; kick-off in Halifax between the Tides and Rapid is at 6pm Eastern time.

The first game on YouTube is on Wednesday, the 11th of June; the Rise host AFC Toronto at Swangard, starting at 10pm Eastern:



Two matches are scheduled for Saturday, the 14th of June.

The first of those, to be aired on TSN and on Radio-Canada in French, sees Ottawa host Montréal at 2pm Eastern.

The second Saturday match, to be YouTube-ed below, is at 5pm Eastern, and shall see AFC Toronto continue their road trip against the Wild:

 

Here are the highlights from Tuesday's match:

HFX-OTT - 10 June 2025 (open) HFX-OTT - 10 June 2025 (close)

It was looking like a familiar story was set to play out in the first half, as the Rapid scored to take a 1-0 lead.

For the first time this season, however, Halifax flipped the script - or turned the Tides, if you prefer - with two goals in the second half, earning them a 2-1 win at full time.

Better late than never, I guess - though their fans no doubt hope it won't be quite so long for their next points to be added to the board...

And from yesterday:

VAN-TOR - 11 June 2025 (open) VAN-TOR - 11 June 2025 (close)

The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the first half, and extended this by another goal early in the second. After this, the hosts scored two goals in response - yet this was not enough to overturn the deficit, as the Rise fell to AFC Toronto by 3 goals to 2.

This leaves the Rise placed fifth in the overall standings, and moves AFC Toronto to second place at 13 points.

 

OTT-MTL - 14 June 2025 (open) OTT-MTL - 14 June 2025 (close)

The Rapid spent most of this match down to ten women, after a red card was issued to Olivia Scott in the 26th minute.

The final score was 2-1 to les Roses, who now sit with 17 points at the top of the NSL standings.

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CGY-TOR - 14 June 2025 (open) CGY-TOR - 14 June 2025 (close)

AFC Toronto scored two goals in the first half, to which the Wild were able to respond with a single goal in the second half.

With the final score 2-1 in AFC Toronto's favour, this puts them at 16 points for the season to date: one point off the pace set by les Roses, yet five points clear of the Rapid, Wild, and Rise.

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Week 10 kicks off with two matches set for this Saturday, the 21st of June.

First up is a match at 2pm Eastern, between the Rapid and Wild, to be shown in English on TSN.

At 4pm Eastern is a home match for AFC Toronto against the Tides:



And on Sunday, the 22nd of June, the Rise host les Roses at Swangard; kick-off is set for 4pm Eastern, or 1pm Pacific:

 

OTT-CGY - 21 June 2025 (open) OTT-CGY - 21 June 2025 (close)

The Rapid put in a dominant performance at home this afternoon, with a 3-1 final score against the Wild.

With another goal to her name today, Delaney Pridham now stands at nine goals so far this season - one more than the total number of goals scored by the next two players on the list combined.

Ottawa as a team move clear at third place on the table. Meanwhile, despite this loss, Calgary still stand just ahead of Vancouver on goal difference - though we'll see what the Rise have to say on the matter in tomorrow's match.

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TOR-HFX - 21 June 2025 (open) TOR-HFX - 21 June 2025 (close)

AFC Toronto started the match in a generous mood, as they gifted an own goal to the Tides early in the first half!

They changed their minds after this, however, as they scored three unanswered non-own goals, for a final score of 3-1.

This leaves the Tides stuck at the bottom of the table at 4 points, and moves AFC Toronto up to first place at 19 points, two clear of les Roses... for now, at least.

 

VAN-MTL - 22 June 2025 (open) VAN-MTL - 22 June 2025 (close)

No goals to report in this one, as the Rise and les Roses fought to a 0-0 draw.

This leaves Montréal at 18 points, in second place behind AFC Toronto; while the Rise move to 12 points , placing them fourth in the table between Ottawa and Calgary.

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The NSL is now on another break; play will resume in the second week of July.

Meanwhile, some of its players are being called up for international duty:

 

AFC Toronto are moving their home match on the 17th of August 2025 against Vancouver Rise FC from York Lions Stadium back to BMO Field!

As it happens, this is in the midst of the annual Canadian National Exhibition, which takes place on the grounds immediately surrounding the latter stadium each year.

 

And we're back for Week 13!

Unlucky for some, perhaps. But for whom? Let's find out.

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First up is a home match for a team with more than its fair share of bad luck thus far: Halifax Tides FC. They take on Calgary Wild FC in a few hours' time:



On Thursday, the 10th of July, AFC Toronto host Ottawa Rapid FC:



The first match on Saturday is at 5PM Eastern time, as les Roses host the Tides. This match is to be aired in Canada on TSN (in English) and on RDS2 (in French).

The second Saturday match is at 7pm Eastern, as the Wild host the Rise on the second-to-last day of this year's Calgary Stampede:



While I don't know if there is any connection between the two Calgary events, I do know that tickets for next month's match at BMO Field between AFC Toronto and the Rise includes general admission to the CNE!