Around the NSL: Heavyweight clashes; a passing clinic; and the new race for first place

Remember the early edition of this column from last week? Well, how ’bout that thrilling clash between the Halifax Tides and Ottawa Rapid?

The saves from Kitchener, Ont., product Rylee Foster and Swedish phenom Mollie Eriksson alone were worth the watch.

Then the Rapid’s Jyllissa Harris banked in a rebound off a perfectly placed high boot from teammate Jung Min-Young. Then came Dorchester, Ont., native Julia Benati’s ball that bent over the fingertips of Eriksson as the home side tied the game at one-all.

Then in the chaos of the 88th minute, with Foster scrambling for a stop, the goalkeeper fumbled the save in front of Delaney Baie Pridham’s foot — who made sure to launch a strike into the net for Ottawa to take control of the game in the dying minutes.

And that was just the start of Week 6. Here’s other storylines from the two other high-stakes games from last weekend.

Highlight of the week

Three of the four goals AFC Toronto put up in its shutout of Calgary at McMahon Stadium on Sunday were beauties. The first goal? Well, to say it was odd would be putting it mildly.

Newfoundlander Lauren Rowe’s opening goal was an opportunistic strike off a brief mental lapse from Calgary goalkeeper Katelin Talbert.

It was Kaylee Hunter’s breakaway strike that deserves the highlight of the match.

The tick-tack-toe sequence that started off the foot of Ontario natives April Lantaigne to Nikayla Small — who ultimately set up Hunter’s break against her hometown club — was a passing clinic just out of halftime.

Toronto native Sarah Stratigakis’s top shelf strike and London, Ont., product Kaila Novak’s nail in a coffin goal in extra time are — naturally — honourable mentions.

Calgary can’t catch a break

Let’s take a moment for the 0-4-1 Calgary Wild. The club sits in the league basement with a single point to its name. The best finish it can boast was a draw with Montreal, of all teams, in Week 4.

That, to many, seemed like it would be the turning point for the club. But Sinead McSharry’s roster just can’t seem to hold a lead, and now — after being shut out 4-0 twice in as many weeks — it’s time for the manager to make some major change, not unlike how the Vancouver Rise’s Anja Heiner-Moller has brought the club back to life off the hands of goalkeeper Jessica Wulf.

Rising through the ranks

Speaking of the Rise, the club has catapulted itself into third place, sitting one regulation win away in points (9) from tying the Rapid for second place (12).

The Rise have won three games in a row after an abysmal start to the season. Last Saturday’s matchup between the Roses — who still cling to the league lead, but only by one point (13) after dropping the contest to Vancouver — proved the defending champs can still play like heavyweights.

After Roses’ phenom Elyse Bennett kicked off the scoring in the eighth minute, Cambridge, Ont., product Anna Bout finished off a wild sequence in front of Montreal’s goalkeeper Anna Karpenko.

And the Rise wouldn’t relinquish the lead, with England’s Josie Longhurst scoring in the 71st before Quebecer Noémi Paquin punched back in the 81st. It was Mississiagua, Ont., native Jessica De Filippo’s floating strike off a beauty pass from sub Jaime Perrault in the 86th that would be the winner, giving Vancouver much-needed life and planting the club firmly in the race for first.

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What to do in Week 7

Unfortunately for Northern Super League superfans, Week 7 is a bye week, meaning action doesn’t kick off again until June 13 for Week 8.

What to do in the meantime? Well, yours truly will probably be rewatching the highlights from the first six weeks of the season and picking apart my picks for highlights of the week past.

But do watch for next Saturday’s edition of the View from Row Z to tee up some massive heavyweight clashes coming fans’ way.

Winnipegfreepress.com/graceannepaizen

Grace Anne Paizen
Sports Editor

Grace oversees the team that produces sports journalism for the Free Press.