Inaugural Northern Soccer League season nearing, Vancouver Rise to open at B.C. Place

Olympic champion Quinn headlines first ever Rise roster

Vancouver Rise team president (left) and sporting director Stephanie Labbe (right) unveil the name and logo of the team. Photo by Jordan Leigh/Vancouver Rise

Vancouver Rise FC will play Calgary Wild FC on April 16 at B.C. Place as the Northern Soccer League begins its first season.

The Rise are the Lower Mainland’s first professional women’s soccer team since 2012. The NSL is the first Canadian professional women’s soccer league, including teams from across Canada.

The Vancouver Whitecaps Women previously competed in the United Soccer League W-League from 2001 until its dissolvement in 2012, winning two league titles in 2004 and 2006.

The Rise will play most of their home games at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, the previous home of the Vancouver Whitecaps from their inception in 1987 until they joined the MLS in 2011.

The team includes long-time Canadian national team star and 2021 Olympic gold medalist Quinn, who goes by only one name, and National Women’s Soccer League veteran Nikki Stanton.

“I’m so excited to come home and play professional soccer in Canada,” said Quinn in a press release.    

“We hope to inspire a new generation of talented young athletes in Canada and beyond.” 

Jaya Punia, who coaches youth soccer, is excited to finally have professional women’s soccer in the Lower Mainland.

“It’s fantastic that it’ll be top-level soccer right at our doorstep,” said Punia.

“It’s (going to) provide opportunities for young soccer players who are going to look up to these women as role models, but also (for) people who don’t watch soccer, they’ll feel more connected (to the sport).”

Quinn, who became the first transgender and non-binary player to appear at a World Cup, previously played for the Seattle Reign in the NWSL and appeared in 67 games between 2019 and 2024, winning the NWSL Shield, given to the team with the best regular season record, in 2022.

Stanton and former Reign teammate Quinn will be two of the team’s most experienced players. She recorded 35 NWSL appearances with the Reign over the last two seasons.

The Rise are coached by Anja Heiner-Moller. As a player, she appeared in over 250 games in the Danish Women’s League from 2000 to 2004. She last coached the Denmark Under-19 women’s team between 2022 and 2024.

The Rise name and colors, teal, black and gold, were announced in 2024 with soccer’s all-time leading international goal scorer and Burnaby native Christine Sinclair joining as a minority owner. Sinclair won the league title with the Whitecaps Women in 2006, scoring 10 goals in 21 appearances from 2006 to 2008.

Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Whitecaps, is the majority owner, opting to keep players from the Whitecaps youth academy involved with the team. The Whitecaps youth academy is a player development program for girls and boys to help prepare them for professional soccer.

Vancouver Rise FC is one of six teams to compete in the first NSL season, joining AFC Toronto, Halifax Tides FC, Montreal Roses FC, Calgary Wild FC and Ottawa Rapid FC.

Each club will play 25 games, and the top four teams will advance to the playoffs. The season runs from April to November.

The Rise’s season begins on April 16 at B.C. Place at 7 p.m. The game can be watched on TSN and on the CBC Gem app.