AFC Toronto and Vancouver Rise set the tone for the NSL's 2nd season in thrilling season opener

After ending the 2025 Northern Super League season with a bang, the Vancouver Rise and AFC Toronto picked up where they left off in the first game of the 2026 campaign. 

Having combined for a thrilling inaugural NSL final at BMO Field last November, one that finished 2-1 for the Rise, Toronto exacted a bit of revenge in a 3-2 victory at Swangard Stadium on Friday. 

Season opener delivers 🎬🔥 #BuiltToThrill pic.twitter.com/x6rbeH2biD

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

On a day where the Rise celebrated that championship in front of a packed home crowd, it’d be Toronto who would get the last laugh, as they managed to finish on top in a thrilling game in which both teams led at various points. 

“It gave us a lot of motivation, but again, this team doesn't need a lot of motivation to play a game,” Toronto captain, Nikayla Small, said of what was at stake for her team in this game. “But that was a little extra motivation, and I think you could see it in our play. We were so intense from the start, and we never let our foot off the gas.”

Yet, it was a matchup fitting of the top two teams in the league from last year, as they showed why they were the last two teams standing last fall - and it can’t be forgotten that while Toronto didn’t win that final, they still picked up the Supporters’ Shield as regular season champions, so it’s not as if they finished the season empty-handed, either. 

Zoe Burns kicks off Season 2 with the first goal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3QFG1ka74U

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

When it came to setting the standard on and off the field, these two teams led the way in year one, and this matchup was another reflection of the standard they want to continue to set in year two. 

Camila Reyes scores banger 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QRIqqfa6oI

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

“I thought it was a great showing for the league, full stadium, I thought the atmosphere was incredible, it’s a really nice venue, and these two good teams,” Toronto head coach, Marko Milanović, said after. “Overall, I thought we represented the league quite, quite well, and are off to a great start in the second year.”

For example, it’s no small detail that while Toronto was one of the best teams in the league last year, they were also one of the youngest, thanks to the presence of players like Kaylee Hunter, who was one of the best players in the league at just 17. 

Somehow, this Toronto team has gotten even younger this year, as they started a lineup with an average age of under 24 in this game, which is quite impressive for a team expected to contend for trophies at the end of the season. 

With one of the NSL’s key missions being to develop the next generation of Canadian soccer talent, Toronto’s proving capable of fulfilling that mission while still being competitive, which is a big credit to the work they’ve done - showing why they feel they can hit new heights this season. 

“I think all of these experiences built over the course of the last 12, 13, months, they work together, and we just continue to grow,” Milanović said. “This is a very young group, this is the youngest team in the league and we got younger in the off season, if you can believe that. All these experiences are so valuable for their futures and for their careers, because they're just proving to themselves that they can do this and do that, and the fact that we're doing it as a group is also very special.”

Of course, it can’t be forgotten that the Rise are no slouches in the youth development department, either - just in this game, they handed minutes to 16-year-old Lacey Kindel, who became the league’s youngest-ever debutant with her short cameo off the bench. 

Yet, that further shows why it was so fitting that these two teams met in the final last year, as they’ve embodied what this league wants to be about on the pitch. Sometimes, for a young league, that can go a long way, setting a model for other teams to follow - and based on early returns from this first weekend of 2026 action, it appears that the other sides in the league are eager to meet the challenge set by Vancouver and Toronto in 2025. 

1 v 3? Light work for Latifah Abdu 💥 pic.twitter.com/nM65j1Hmj6

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

To return to this game, however, while there was a lot of focus on some of the younger players on display like Kindel, Hunter or the 17-year-old Olivia Chisholm, there were also some key veteran players who stood out, too. 

For Toronto, Sarah Stratigakis had an excellent game, scoring a goal and adding an assist, while for Vancouver, Sura Yekka shone in her debut, playing a big role at centre back for her side. 

Two Canadian internationals who have had lengthy careers in Europe, they’re the sort of players that this league was created for, as one can only imagine how they would’ve benefited from having a circuit like this as younger players.

Sarah Stratigakis, what a ball, what a take, what a FINISH ⚽️🔥 pic.twitter.com/XiijNiHpcm

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

Now, though, they can bring those experiences that they got elsewhere and use them to help out those younger players who are now cutting their teeth in the NSL, and that’s huge - an underrated aspect of youth development is ensuring that those young players are supported by the right veterans to help them along. 

And with the NSL’s growth, they’ll be able to attract more players like Stratigakis and Yekka going forward - certainly, based on Yekka’s early impressions, she’s liked what she’s seen. 

“(I enjoyed) the energy of the stadium and the competitiveness of the match, I thought it was really high intensity,” Yekka said. “I love that, and I'm excited for the rest of the season. In terms of the atmosphere, you won't get this in Sweden, I can tell you that, so it was amazing. I’m so happy to be playing in front of these amazing fans, and I'm excited to see the other stadiums across Canada.”

“We're playing on a professional level, yes, but it feels professional because of the atmosphere, the fans and everything around it.”

Thanks to some discussions that she had with those around the league, Yekka had no hesitation when the Rise came calling, showing the sort of reputation the league has been able to develop quite early on. 

“It was not so much the games, but it was me talking to people in the league,” Yekka added. I pretty much know a person on every single team, and every conversation I had with everybody about their experiences were all so positive and to me, that’s a really big thing, because when you talk to certain players about different leagues all over the world, they'll tell you certain things, negative or positive, and there are reputations about different leagues across the world, but everything I've heard from every single club in this league has been positive.”

While the league will continue to grow off the field with the addition of more players like that, however, the focus over the next few months will shift back towards what’s happening on the field, as these teams push to lift the Supporters’ Shield and the Diana B. Matheson Cup at the end of the year. 

Esther Okoronkwo flips the script 💥⚽️ pic.twitter.com/nZejrzgRB8

— Northern Super League (@NorthernSuperLg) April 25, 2026

For each of the six teams, they’ll have different motivating factors, but the goal will remain the same, and that will be to find a way to win. 

At the end of the day, a league is nothing without competition, and the NSL will hope to continue to stoke that within its ranks - with the Rise leading the way while carrying a target on their backs after winning that first-ever final. 

“That is an extra pressure, we know that when we're celebrating with the trophy, with the fireworks and all of that, I would be fired up as well,” Rise coach, Anja Heiner-Møller said. “And we took that and did our best in there. So I'm confident in the team.”