Roses advance to face AFC Toronto in NSL final after winning semifinal series against Rise

The Montreal Roses are off to the Northern Super League final after downing the Vancouver Rise 5-2 over a two-game semifinal series.

Montreal took a 3-0 victory in the opener on Nov. 1 in Burnaby, B.C., then battled Vancouver to a 2-2 draw on Sunday in Montreal, ousting the reigning champions from the playoffs.

Noemi Paquin got the Roses on the board with a goal in the 39th minute, but the Rise battled back late in the first half.

NSL Player of the Year Jessica De Filippo scored for Vancouver in the 41st minute and Latifah Abdu put the visitors ahead in the second minute of first-half injury time.

Lisa Perchesky levelled the score at 2-2 with a tally for Montreal in the 78th minute.

The Roses will face AFC Toronto in the NSL final in Ottawa on Saturday.

Toronto earned its spot with an 8-2 aggregate win over the Ottawa Rapid.