Ottawa Rapid FC fall in playoffs, but momentum for women’s soccer grows

Ottawa Rapid FC failed to advance in Saturday’s playoff match but gained momentum with fans in its inaugural season. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

Ottawa Rapid FC’s inaugural season has come to an end after the team fell during penalty kicks to Vancouver Rise FC in Saturday’s semi-finals game.

Today’s match at TD Place was the second or two between Ottawa and Vancouver to determine who would advance to the league’s first ever Northern Super League Final.

On Tuesday, Rapid FC fell 2-1 to Rise FC in the first semi-final match, which put Ottawa at a goal deficit heading into game two.

Whichever team scored the most goals at the end of the two semi-finals games would move on to the NSL Final, so entering today’s match, Rapid FC needed to outscore their opponents by two to advance.

Rapid FC led for much of the game, and had a 2-0 lead with less than ten minutes left in regulation.

Unfortunately for Ottawa fans, Vancouver scored at 84 minutes, sending the game to extra time, and eventually penalty kicks.

Vancouver’s Sofia Hagman secured the final goal in penalty kicks to help her team advance to the NSL Final.  

Ottawa’s team finished in second place during the regular season, with 11 wins, eight losses and six draws.

Vancouver Rose FC will now face either AFC Toronto or the Montreal Roses in the finals. Toronto defeated Montreal 2-0 in their first semi-final match and the two teams will meet again tomorrow to determine who advances to the NSL Finals.

Rising momentum behind women’s soccer in Ottawa

While the Rapid FC failed to advance to the Final, the biggest storyline may be the steady rise in engagement around the team and the NSL.

The team’s entrance into the semi-finals served as another as another example of the growing interest in women’s soccer across Canada.

Fans arrived early, energy built throughout the afternoon, and the atmosphere reflected a sport gaining real traction in the community.

For team CEO Thomas Gilbert, the enthusiasm is a sign of a deeper, long-term change.

“It’s everything,” Gilbert told CTV News Ottawa ahead of Saturday’s match. “I want my nieces to grow up in a world where they can live whatever dream they want to live and I think that the only way you do that is by making sure that those role models are visible.”

Much of that growth can be traced to the launch of the NSL, which aims to provide a stable, fully professional platform for women’s soccer in Canada.

NSL founder Diana Matheson says Saturday’s atmosphere is a sign that league’s foundation is working.

“This was always about impacting not just the players on the field. It’s about the women that want to work as not just players, but coaches, referees, women in business, women in the media, sports, science, whatever it is,” Matheson said.

“It’s not just the girls either, the young boys in the stands here growing up are going to know that a professional athlete doesn’t just mean one gender, and that’s society changing

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